Bybbec Fever
by OceanicShadows
Summary: Hera is sick with a potentially fatal disease to Twi-lek. The Empire has control over the only cure. Will the rebels be able to come up with a plan in time to save her?
1. Chapter 1: Flying Lessons

****Okay guys. Here's the non-slash fic. I'm trying something new. I'm writing this one chapter by chapter instead of prewriting the whole thing. We'll see which one works out better for me** **Enjoy!** ~Ocean**

 **Chapter 1: Flying Lessons**

TIEs were heard screaming across the mountains in hot pursuit of their target. Ahead of them, in the tiny space vessel was Hera and Ezra. The two had been on a supply run only to have been discovered. Now Hera was taking sharp twists and turns through the mesa in hopes of losing the fighter crafts, or destroying them.

Hera was keeping her cool as usual, seeming to find way too much joy and fun in their Imperial run in. Across her face was a devilish smirk as she took a nose dive, pulling up just in time to zoom under a natural arch causing one of the TIEs to crash.

"One down." She said as she made some adjustments on her control panel. The Twi-lek let out of soft cough. Ezra glanced at her; she had done this four times in the market and when he asked if she was okay she waved him off.

"Two to go. Are you sure you're okay?" The teen asked, eyes widening slightly as she flipped up and spun around so that they were heading straight for the TIEs.

"I'm fine Kid." She said, once again shrugging him off. She felt a little tired, but that could wait. She was never sick. Hadn't been since she was very little, so she assumed that this was just a mild cold or just a throat irritation from the pollution in the air.

"If I didn't know any better Hera, I would say you've flown this course before." Even with his Jedi senses Ezra was having a hard time keeping up with all the turns; Hera on the other hand seemed to know exactly where she was going. He stared at the fast approaching vessels, a little spooked but for the most part unphased. Hera did this often enough and they always made it out alive and kicking.

"I have. I've flown this course thousands of times. I learned to fly on this space rock." She launched a series of cannon shots and knocked one of the TIES out of the air. One to go.

"Wait. This is Ryloth? Where was I when you told me we were going to your home planet? Hera does Kanan know were here?" Ezra was volunteered to go with Hera on her fun flying adventure, but they were supposed to be on a different planet, in a different sector. Why were they here? He thought back to when he was told trying to see if he missed something.

* * *

"Ezra. Get ready. Hera and you are going on a supply run. You leave in 15 minutes." Kanan came into the commons where Ezra and Zeb were currently trying to lock the other in neck lock. They froze when the Jedi walked in, as if trying to hide what they had been doing. Kanan simply crossed his arms and looked at them with his normal, unamused look.

Ezra got off of Zeb straightening his hair.

"Why me? Normally Sabine goes with her. I thought we had training this afternoon?" Kanan sighed. Ezra always questioned him. He was starting to understand what he put his master through.

"Because Sabine is doing something else and she specifically said you. I'm not questioning her, but if you want to question the Captain of the ship you're living on, be my guest." He said with a small grin.

Zeb laughed, knowing that Ezra wouldn't.

"I'm sure if you wanted to stay and help Zeb wash the Fresher and the Cargo hold instead I could persuade Hera to let you stay." He continued knowing that Ezra wouldn't ask anymore questions.

"Uh, no it's okay. I'll be ready to go in 15." His student took off past him heading to get his things.

"Why do I have to clean the Fresher?" Zeb whined at their leader as he turned and walked out of the room.

* * *

It had been years since Hera had been here and nothing was the same in the city life; One, for the natural formations far from the cities and the reaches of the Empire.

"Kanan doesn't need to know." She fired taking out the last TIE before she zoomed high up into the clouds leveling out the ship and hitting the auto fly button.

"Why doesn't he need to know? Sounds to me like he should know. What if something happened and we needed him?" Ezra cocked an eye brow before moving to sit on one of the back benches. It wasn't like the Twi-lek to lie about her whereabouts, especially to Kanan.

"I needed to meet someone and pick up something important to the rebel fleet. Just a little detour. Nothing happened did it? Besides, Kanan doesn't need to know because he would have been upset." Hera gave him a pleading look as she sat across from him.

"Why because you lied to him? And that was something. We were being chased by TIE fighters." Ezra was an accomplice at this point and as such, he felt he deserved a full explanation of her motives.

"No, because he knows how much it hurts for me to see my home world in this much distress and he doesn't like to see me upset." Hera looked down. Ezra could feel now the hurt she was in.

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to..." Ezra started feeling like he made her feel worse.

"You have nothing to be sorry about. The Empire is what caused all the destruction here. That's why I do what I do." Hera was stopped short as a coughing fit racked her body.

"I won't tell Kanan, as long as you rest when we get back. You really don't look so well." Ezra stared at her. The young Jedi didn't like when any of his friends were hurt or sick.

"It's a deal." Hera smiled tiredly.

"Alright, let's head back. Before we have any more visitors." Ezra said.

"Do you want to fly?" Hera thought this through before they had left and that's why she brought Ezra. It was time that he learned how to properly fly her ship, at least the one they were currently in.

"Really?" Ezra said with huge eyes a smile creeping across his face. The pilot nodded with a smile.

Hera was going to let him fly? The excitement started building as he sat down in the pilot chair looking over everything.

Hera pointed everything out to him explaining the basics before turning off auto-pilot letting Ezra take over. At first Ezra's skills were shaky and so was the craft he was flying but soon he got the hang of it and it became a smooth ride.

"You're doing well Ezra. Now work on making slight changes in your directional path." Ezra turned the yoke suddenly not expecting the ship to roll how it did.

"Whoa!" He said, Hera grabbed the controls and leveled the ship out again.

"Try again and this time you only have to apply slight pressure." Ezra tried again and did much better.

His lesson continued to go smoothly.

At least until something hit them from the side causing them to jerk violently, sending Hera into the wall hitting her head and rendering her unconscious, leaving Ezra on his own. Alarms were sounding all over and it was becoming overwhelming.

"Hera? What am I supposed to do. This is too early for a test." He looked back to see the Twi-lek laying on the floor, out cold. In his panic he caused the ship to fly straight up hoping to get them away from what had hit them. As he did the engines cut out and soon the ship was angling down into a nose dive.

Trying to figure out how to restart the engines Ezra began to push buttons, one of which was the radio transmission to the _Ghost_.

The Padawan started screaming trying to get Hear to wake up as the ground was quickly getting closer.


	2. Chapter 2: Be Advised

**Chapter 2: Be Advised**

Within moments of their unplanned descent, smoke started filling the cabin from a fire caused by a power surge. Alarms continued to blare their deafening tune.

"Come on Hera wake up!" Ezra pleaded, still trying to get some control of the craft. He wished Kanan was here, Kanan always remained calm and would have known how to start the engines. That or that Hera was conscious.

"What happened? Spectre 6? What is going on?" Kanan's unamused, yet concerned voice crackled over the radio. He had sensed a disturbance right before _Phantom_ started a transmission.

"Oh, you know, the usual. We were hit, Hera's unconscious and we're currently falling to our death's. You know nothing relatively new. I can't get the engines to start and we're going to hit the ground any second!" Ezra felt a little calmer knowing his master was "there".

"whoa whoa, calm down. Panicking never helps in a bad situation. Just use the force Kid. Focus on the ship and what you need to happen." His voice was always calm when he needed his student to succeed in a task.

"Right, okay…focus...use the force…" Ezra drew in a deep breath as he shut his eyes hesitating before releasing the grip on the yoke. He focused on the crashing ship before narrowing his focus to the engines. He could feel them getting closer to the ground but he remained calm and did as he was instructed.

Hera started to come to. As she regained consciousness, she immediately noticed the condition of her ship. Using the back rest of the pilot's chair she dragged herself to see the ground closing in. She was about to take over when she felt the ship turning, angling itself into a level position as the Engine's fired up. They stopped moving down and started moving horizontally.

Ezra felt this too and opened his eyes relaxing letting out a breath.

She had to give the kid credit. Usually in this kind of situation his master had to tell him what to do.

"Good job Ezra. Couldn't have done it better myself." Hera said giving him a small smile.

Seeing Hera awake, Ezra decided he was done with his lesson, he moved from the seat and let Hera take over seeing that she had hit her head pretty hard. He grabbed an extinguisher and used it on the fire. He was about to comment, when his master, who had been waiting, spoke up.

"Would someone please explain to me what happened now?" Kanan was still on the radio. He assumed they hadn't crashed because Ezra wasn't panicking, he heard Hera's voice and Hera was manually overriding the alarm systems.

"We were hit by an unidentified missal. Don't worry love, we're fine. We'll be home soon." She reached over and turned off the radio transmission before he could question anything else.

"He's going to keep asking questions when we get back. You do know that right?" Ezra said, surprised she cut him off like she did. The pilot really didn't want him knowing where she was. She could calm him down easily in person rather than through radio transmission.

Ezra decided to change the subject.

"Hey Hera, why aren't the cities here above ground?" He sat down, the moment of panic gone from him. He felt a little drained having not been used to using that much power from the force without the aid of his master, but he knew it would pass quickly.

"The terrain here is too dangerous to live above ground. Things are constantly shifting around; there are active volcanoes and the weather can change fast. It's safer to be under the earth where it's stable." She said simply.

Another alarm started going off signaling the loss of power to the engines.

"What's that?" Ezra said, not really wanting an answer, knowing that it wasn't one he wanted to hear.

"We're losing engine power." She said trying to reroute some of the power. Despite her attempt, the vessel spurted and jerked before the engines died again.

"Hold on Kid, we're going to have to make a landing." Hera said taking control of the Yoke to keep the ship in as much control as possible. Crash landing was simple science to the professional pilot.

The _Phantom_ picked up speed as it continued to get lower to the ground. Within moments Hera was crash landing in a canyon. The ride and landing were rocky, but they survived. Hera opened the hatch and got out surveying the damage done to her ship with a scowl.

Ezra filed out, taking the time to look around at the colossal cliffs surrounding them. They must have gone up at least 200 feet. He felt something in the force. When the hairs on the back of his neck bristled, he knew that danger was coming. He backed up looking around trying to find the source, unable to he moved closer to Hera.

"Something's coming…" He said quietly, not taking his eyes off the cliffs.

"You bet there is. Kanan isn't going to be happy when I radio him and tell him I need a pick up…If I can just find the source of the disconnection I can get her back up in the…." She stopped ranting when a huge shadow crossed over them. She assumed it was just a large cloud; that was normal. A star destroyer wasn't normal though. The two Spectres watch as it passed over them heading for its destination. Shortly after the sky started to get dark.

"Hera, you said that the weather changed fast…What about the rotations? How fast are the rotations here?" He asked continuing to back up making it to the edge of the tiny ship the feeling getting stronger.

"I don't understand; we should still have at least 5 more hours of day light…" She said a little confused.

Ezra saw the beginning of a dark cloud heading in their direction.

"What kind of weather?" He knew a storm cloud when he saw one. Hera had gone back to work on the _Phantom_ wanting to get it done before it got dark.

"Torrential downpours, tornadoes, hurricanes and flooding, we'll be safe for now, the canyon will protect us…." She said as she felt a large droplet of water. She looked over to see Ezra looking at the walls.

The force was trying to tell him something. Ezra had walked over feeling the rock noticing it was wet. His eyes moved down, he had stepped in mud.

"What are you….?" She didn't need to finish. The cliffs and the soil were saturated; any large amount of rain would cause flooding. She shook her head feeling more rain drops. She could have the ship fixed before any flooding would occur.

She looked up to see the direction the clouds were moving, formulating her own calculations. Her eyes widened. They were downhill, flooding moved downhill, the cloud above was sure to have caused some…

"Hera…." Ezra said with his eyes just as wide. He wasn't looking at her or the cliffs anymore, he was staring past her. She turned, she heard the water before it became visual. A huge river of water, brought on by upstream flooding was heading right for them, the canyon forming the route it sought.

"Kid…Get in the ship. Now!" She said as she grabbed her tools, quick climbing in. Ezra got in right as Hera was shutting the ramp the water already starting to splash giving warning of what was to come.

"Brace yourself and hold on!" She said taking a seat on the nearest bench, knowing this wasn't going to be fun.

"Hold on to wh-" The water hit them with a force far more powerful than anything a TIE canon could hit with. It slammed the tiny ship against the cliff wall causing Ezra to fall over the seated Twi-lek slamming his head against the control panel before falling limp.

"Ezra!" Hera knew better than to let go or go to him. With each forceful push and hit the ship took, she felt it in her heart. The _Phantom_ wasn't designed for this kind of abuse.

She looked at the control panel that had just received abuse from her youngest crew member, her eyes fell on the radio. Swallowing her pride and risking injury, she forced herself up managing to make it to the pilot chair, sitting down right when the nose of the ship hit another wall of rock causing her to fly forward hitting the window with a sickening crack.

Stars flooded her vision but she had a mission she had to completely. Hera ignored the pain and the darkness threatening to consumer her. She strapped herself in so she wouldn't go flying again reaching out and pushing the transmission button. She hoped that Kanan wasn't mad about her cutting him off and was reachable.

"What's up with you? First you cut me off then you call me back?" Kanan said. He was mad alright. Hera remained silent trying to gain enough consciousness back to form words. Kanan started to sensed everything. Mainly he sensed the lack of comeback from the witty Twi-lek.

"What's going on? Spectre 2 what's wrong?" He stood up in his seat, frustration gone from his mind, replaced by worry.

"We need a pick up Spectre 1... Be advised we are not on the agreed destination... Sending coordinates now. This is an emergency…" She pushed a button sending the Jedi the coordinates. He scanned them over.

"Spectre 2, this is Ryloth? Why are you on Ryloth? What's going on?" He asked.

Hera had fallen unconscious in the chair, unaware that Kanan was asking her a question.

"Spectre 2? Spectre 6? Do you copy?" Hearing continued silence, Kanan knew something was wrong, he felt it in his gut and in his mind. He turned the ship's intercom on.

"Zeb, Sabine. I need you on deck. Chopper, input hyper drive coordinates to Ryloth and get us into hyperspace. Now." He sat back down in Hera's seat and turned the ship as Chopper came in and started to get ready to activate the hyper drive. Chopper let him know when it was ready and he took off with a set direction.

He couldn't feel his student and he didn't like it, not after the disturbance he felt. Something bad had happened and he wasn't traveling fast enough.


	3. Chapter 3: Falling Ill

**Chapter 3: Falling Ill**

When Ezra came to it was dark. He groaned as he pushed himself up with his hand moving into a sitting position gingerly feeling his head. There was a gash on his temple covered with drying blood.

"Uhn…What happened…?" He groaned. He realized they weren't moving anymore. Why were they moving again? He sat there for a few more minutes, trying to remember, before it hit him. He looked around trying to locate Hera.

"Hera?" The Twi-lek was nowhere to be found. Ezra forced himself up, holding his head as it started to pound. Using the wall of the small craft for support his made his way to the back pushing the button to open up the ramp. He was glad it still worked.

He made it outside feeling himself sink slightly in the mud. He looked around at his surroundings. The moon created enough light that he could see fairly clearly. The tall canyon cliffs were gone, replaced by a dense, lush forest. Currently though, he was standing in a swampy area.

"You're awake. How are you feeling?" The Twi-lek said coming from around her vessel. She had her tool kit trying to repair some damage. Ezra noticed that she didn't look too good and was leaning heavily against the heavily damaged ship.

"Feel like I got slammed around a ship and hit my head. You don't look much better." He said groggily. He was still trying to gain full consciousness.

"Well, you went flying into the control panel so not too far from the truth. Kanan should be here soon. I sent him our coordinates." She moved to walked over to the other part of her ship but she stumbled, Ezra used his Jedi reflexes to catch her.

"You need to rest Hera." He could feel her body trembling from weakness and she was radiating heat.

The pilot moved away from him.

"I'm fine Ezra, I need to get these repairs done." She stumbled again, once again the Padawan caught her.

"Repairs can wait." She didn't protest much this time as the youth brought her back into the ship. Ezra put one side of the benches down and laid her down on it. He noticed, and grew concerned from the lack of banter from the female leader of their group.

He dug around in the storage compartments finding an emergency kit with a pillow and thick blanket. He eased the pillow under her head gently, taking note of the large head wound she sported. Spreading out the blanket he laid it over her tucking it around her to keep her warm.

"Thank you Ezra…I'll be fine though, you didn't need to do this." She said, falling into a small coughing fit.

"I don't believe you. Just rest Hera. I have everything under control." Ezra grinned before noticing that Hera didn't hear him. She was already asleep. Ezra looked around trying to figure out what to do. He went out to continue on repairs. He had been working for several minutes when he heard an ominous growl. He felt out, feeling that the growl was not something he wanted to deal with. Ezra went into the ship and shut the door.

"Well, there goes that plan. Sorry Hera, repairs have to wait." He spoke to the sleeping female. She was still shivering.

"Maybe Kanan will know what to do; he already knows we're here…" Ezra tried to get the radio to transmit seeing that communications were down. He climbed underneath the control panel with the tool kit and set to work trying to fix it.

* * *

Kanan had arrived at Ryloth after several hours of traveling through the hyper space. He had heard nothing from the two missing members of his family and was getting antsy. He soared through the atmosphere heading for the coordinates that Hera had sent him. Unfortunately, there was no sign of them because it was a canyon.

"Karabast…"

"Ryloth is known for their unpredictable weather. Maybe if we travel downstream we'll find them?" The Mando suggested looking over her information about the planet.

"Good idea Sabine." He said as he took to the sky again.

" _Phantom_ to _Ghost_ , do you copy?" Kanan was happy to hear Ezra's voice over the intercom. Due to the static, he knew that there was some kind of malfunction but Ezra was still there.

"I read you Spectre 6. Where are you? We landed at the coordinates Spectre 2 gave us, but we can't find you." Kanan was doing good keeping his calm.

"We got washed away. I'll send you the new coordinates. Spectre 2 is really sick." Ezra added quietly. He didn't really want to tell Kanan that the pilot was sick, but he would learn soon enough and maybe he had a suggestion.

"What do you mean sick? She was fine earlier." He heard the concern in the Jedi's voice.

"She actually wasn't; she's just gotten worse. She's really shaky and has a fever and she keeps coughing. Is there a med pack on this ship?" Ezra had already looked, but maybe there was a secret spot.

"No…I took it out to restock it and I uh…forgot to put it back…" Zeb said as he walked in. He rubbed the back of his head with guilt looking down.

"Great. Did you get the coordinates?" Ezra asked, a little frustrated at Zeb.

"Yes, it looks like you're only about a few minutes away. We'll be there soon." Kanan was about to end transmission when Ezra spoke up.

"Be careful Spectre 1. We saw a star destroyer earlier…there's usually more than one." Kanan frowned. He didn't want to deal with Imperials today.

"Thanks for the info, we'll be careful. See you in a few." He hit the button to end the transmission. Kanan headed out, trying to stay out of sight. The flight took 10 minutes but soon they were landed next to the totaled ship.

Ezra heard a knock on the door and he felt his master. He pushed the button opening it.

"Hiya master." He said; Ezra was glad to see his master right now. Soon he would be back on the ship.

Kanan's eyes scanned his student and looked over the wound on his head.

"That's going to need stitches. What did you do? Hit the control panel?" Ezra grinned sheepishly.

"That's exactly what happened. How'd you know?" The teen wittingly said.

A deep hacking cough from the Twi-lek caused both boys to turn and look at her. Kanan walked over and knelt down checking her over.

"She has a high fever and is injured." The concern was rising. Hera didn't get sick, not like this. He carefully picked her up earning a groan from the pilot.

"So are you going to tell me what happened to get both of you in this condition?" Kanan said calmly, heading back to the main ship.

"It's a long story and actually…Hera was awake for most of it so she should get to explain it." He looked back at the other crew trying to figure out how to get the _Phantom_ onto the ship and connected.

The padawan followed his master up the ladder, down the hall and to Hera's room. Ezra hesitated about going in just staying in the door frame. Hera never let him in and he didn't want to get into trouble.

"Ezra go get me a cool cloth and a med pack." Kanan gave him the order without even turning around. His attention was focused on Hera and getting her settled.

"Right. Be right back." Ezra left, heading down to get the kit and other supplies before coming back. By that time Kanan had stripped Hera of her boots, gloves, goggles and armor so she would be more comfortable.

"How is she?" He said hesitating before walking in, bringing everything over.

"You weren't kidding. I've never seen her this sick. And so sudden. She was fine when you guys left. I don't understand it." Kanan stated with confusion as he started to take care of her.

"Kanan?" Sabine said in the doorway. She looked over to the motherly figure on the bed.

"Is she okay? What happened?" She said staying where she was.

"She's sick. What did you need Sabine?" Kanan had a task which he wasn't be allowed to complete. He knew there was a good reason though.

"Oh yeah. The ship isn't going to be able to fly up to attach to the _Ghost_." Kanan knew what she was hinting at. He sighed looking at Hera again before getting up.

"Alright. Ezra, come with me. Sabine, stay with Hera. Try to get her fever down." Kanan left the room with Ezra at his heels. He left the ship and came over to the _Phantom_.

"Help me get the _Phantom_ on its dock. Afterwards, I'm going take care of that cut. It doesn't look good." He said.

The pair shut their eyes and held their arms out. Using the force, slowly but surely the small vessel levitated and hovered higher and higher until they had moved it to its usually place at the tail end of the _Ghost._ When they had finished, Ezra felt the exhaustion kick in leaving him slightly out of breath.

Zeb was waiting up on top and started on the repairs that he could do at the moment.

Kanan brought him back in and took him to the commons taking care of the wound on Ezra before letting him go rest. As worried as the youth was about Hera, he didn't complain and left for his room.

Kanan walked to the cockpit and tried to reach the fleet. Ahsoka's image appeared in front of him.

"Kanan Jarrus. What can I do for you my friend?" She asked seeing his face and sensing something wrong.

"I need to dock with the fleet. I want Hera to see a medical droid. She's come down suddenly with something and I don't think it's a normal cold. I think…no I feel that it's much more serious." Ahsoka watched him for a few more moments.

"Of course. I will have one ready to board your ship. Until we know of the disease's origin I don't want to expose any unnecessary party." Kanan frowned realizing that if what Hera had was contagious that all of them had just been exposed, except for the Lesat.

"I…didn't think of that. I agree. We'll see you soon." He ended the transmission. He got up and walked back to Hera's room. He was glad to see the Twi-lek sitting up when he walked in but his frowned when she looked up at him with an apologetic look on her face.

"What is it?" Kanan asked, scared to know the answer. Sabine looked over.

"Kanan, have you ever heard of Bybbec fever?" The young Mandalorian asked. In her hand was her data pad with her HoloNet full of information she had brought up. The Jedi shook his head watching the pilot. Hera was trembling but it wasn't from being cold or the fever. It was from pain. The Jedi frowned knowing that whatever it was, it wasn't good.


	4. Chapter 4: Treatment Option

**Chapter 4: Treatment Option**

Kanan sat in the dark room in silence. He would occasionally hear a fluidly cough coming from the sick pilot laying on the bed. Each time he would open his eyes from meditation and check on Hera. He thought about what Sabine and Ahsoka told him.

* * *

Sabine and Kanan were in the cockpit staring at the image once again of the Torgruta.

"Bybbec Fever? Are you sure Sabine?" Ahsoka's face darkened slightly before going neutral again.

"She is exhibiting all the signs including the bone pain. Hera would need a test to confirm, but I'm fairly positive." Sabine wasn't happy. While at the academy, she had been vaccinated before having to go out and help with the bodies of those that had perished and quarantine the ones that were sick."

"Wait, this is that sickness that killed hundreds of Twi-lek during the wars. I remember my master and I went to offer aid." Kanan frowned, he remembered the illness.

"Yes, I remembered hearing about it. It's not typically a fatal disease. It usually acts just like a flu until treated. Symptoms are more severe with Twi-lek and they can die quickly without treatment." Ahsoka remained calm as normal. Rarely did she exhibit any other emotions.

"So we give her a series of bacta injections and she's right as rain next week. Piece of cake." Kanan said flagging his arm to enunciate how simple his plan way. Sabine frowned.

"It's not that simple Kanan. Bybbec fever only responds to one kind of treatment. Bacta is ineffective." Kanan looked over to the teenager.

"So then what's the treatment? We'll go get it and get her fixed." Sabine shook her head; it was the other woman's turn to speak again.

"Gattis-root is the only known treatment and there's only one place it can be found." Ahsoka frowned giving Kanan the answer to where it was.

"Let me guess…The Empire." He answered solemnly.

"Yes, they have a tight security on it and the price is high. We'd have to rob 10 imperial bases successfully to have enough credits to pay for one treatment." Sabine said looking at her info.

"So? When do we ever buy anything from the Empire?" Kanan said, an idea already starting to form.

"Once again, not that simple." Ahsoka said.

"Kanan, the only known farm of the root is on Coruscant." Kanan tensed as he heard this. Part because of his deep hate of the empire, but part of his training to follow directives from the high council that no longer existed. The directive to never return to his former home.

* * *

That discussion had been two days ago. Since then precautions had been taken. Zeb was staying with the fleet; Sabine was the go between. Kanan, Hera and Ezra were on quarantine, banned from leaving the ship.

Ahsoka and Kanan doubted that the older Jedi would contract the disease. He had been through enough training and his immune system was high enough. Ezra, on the other hand, had exhibited mild symptoms and was on bed rest under his master's watchful eye.

"I'll think of something Hera. I'm not going to let you just die." He saw her eyes open as he spoke. They were filled with pain as the ailment coursed through her bones and everywhere else. Her fever was very high for her species. Twi-lek weren't designed to withstand too much heat for great lengths of time.

"How's Ezra?" She asked weakly knowing that Ezra had fallen ill. Kanan admired her motherly side, caring more about others than herself.

"He's fine. His symptoms are very mild; it will probably have run its course by early next week. How are you feeling?" The Jedi didn't have to ask. He could see it written on her face. Hera smiled weakly to try and reassure him.

"Sick." Was all she said too weak to even muster up one of her witty remarks.

Kanan wasn't used to seeing her in this condition and it pained him to watch her body deteriorating. To help make her comfortable, Sabine had helped her change into loose, warm clothing so she could move a little better. Too much pressure and her body ached.

"I brought you some warm tea." He sat up more and reached over to get it. Gently he helped the female pilot sit up, propping her up with pillows before handing her the cup and helping her hold it.

"Thank you love." She said with a small smile weakly putting the cup to her lips taking a few swallows. The liquid burned going down, but quickly soothed her throat.

"I put some medication in it to help with your symptoms." When she was done, Kanan put the glass aside and pulled the covers back over her.

Hera had been thinking a long time about what was going to happen to her. She kept her hope, but alternative plans needed to be found.

"Kanan, if something happens to me." The Jedi quickly cut her off.

"Nothing is going to happen. I'm going to get that root and you're going to be fine Hera." She smiled and held her hand up to silence him.

"Stop being so damn stubborn…I'm not giving up on you or myself…but if something happens I want you to have the _Ghost_. You're not as good as I am, but you're still a good pilot. The fleet needs that." She fell into a coughing fit doubling over in pain. Kanan watched helplessly as she struggled to take in full breath after it had subsided.

"I'm flattered, but I'm not taking your ship or promising to take your ship. You're going to get better." His voice was determinant and low. He hated for Hera to even have to think of things like that.

Hera was silent for several minutes before she managed to catch her breath enough to talk.

"There's no way any one of us can get close to Coruscant without the Empire knowing. Even if we did, how do you expect to get the root? It's not like Lothal or Garel."

"I know it's not. But there's still a chance. If we don't go, there is none. Just rest now." He said starting to lay her back down getting her settled.

"You need to save your strength. I'll come check on you later." He stood seeing that she was already asleep again. He left quietly.

"How is she?" The older teen asked; Sabine had been coming to check on her. Kanan just shook his head frowning.

"We need to get that root and we need to get it now." He watched as Sabine nodded understanding the severity of his words.

"Hey guys, I think I have a plan." Kanan looked up to see his student in his doorway. He was still flushed from a fever, but not as bad as his mother figure.

"Let's talk." The three headed down the hall into the sitting area.

"Both you and Sabine are familiar with Coruscant right?" Kanan nodded.

"I'm sure it's changed a lot since I was there last..." He said sadly ignoring the memories threatening to flood his mind.

"I visited the planet multiple times while at the academy." Sabine piped up.

Ezra nodded.

"So when we get there, you guys will have some idea of where we can go."

"That's great kid. But that doesn't help if we're seen." Kanan said not understanding. He was starting to think his fever was too high.

"Hear me out. What if we changed our appearance? Make ourselves look like civilians."

"You mean like a disguise?" Sabine suggested. She was starting to understand. The Empire wouldn't expect them walking around in plain sight.

"Exactly. The Imperials wont suspect that we go to their main headquarters in the center of the galaxy. If we don't look like our mug shots, no one will pay a second glance to us." Ezra had a small glint in his feverish eyes.

"Oh, I get it now. If we don't look like rebels, they won't pay any attention to us." Ezra wanted to clap at his master for finally understanding but he refrained from doing so.

The three started to make plans, going further into depth as the mission started to take shape. The mission would be dangerous. If they were caught, there would be no leaving the planet or any hope to do so. This was one plan that had to go perfectly; Hera's life depended on it.


	5. Chapter 5: Shuttle Ride

**** Guess this story isn't as popular as the others lol. Oh well, still fun to write! Those of you reading, hope you're enjoying it!** ~Ocean**

 **Chapter 5: Shuttle Ride**

"We will land on the planet Coruscant in 5 minutes. Please remain seated behind the line until the engines have been turned off and thank you for flying with us." The pilot droid rambled as it turned back around to focus on its job.

"'bout time. We've been on this thing for hours." Kanan grumbled sinking lower into his seat, shutting his eyes.

"You're the one that wanted to see the city, Dad." Ezra stated calmly with a small smile. Truth be told he was antsy as well. They were far from any possible rebel sympathizer and escape path. The three rebels were past the point of no return and on hostile grounds.

"Can we go see the art Dad? Please? I hear the Empire has a special room designed just for the academy Jaek and I were looking at attending next year." Sabine hung over the seat leaning between the two boys in front of her like a normal teenager would do at her age. Her hair had been died a plain brown color; the same as Kanan. She was wearing normal civilian type clothing and looked no more like a rebel than the pilot droid in the very front.

All of them didn't look at all like their mug shots. The three looked just like a family visiting the core city of the Empire.

"No, Dad said that we were going to go to the Imperial flight museum." Ezra crossed his arms. He was wearing a simple tunic. On his face, Sabine had put some cover up to cover the scars on his cheek. Kanan opened his eyes as he felt the eyes of a few other passengers.

"Jaek, Kaida, that's enough. We can go to both, but we need to be quiet and not disturb the other passengers." Kanan looked least out of character and probably felt the most uncomfortable. He had no armor on and no gun or other weapon for that matter. They had decided against weapons because of the higher risk of being seen. Kanan didn't like it at all and felt exposed. He would do anything for Hera though, even sacrifice himself if it meant she would be okay.

His hair was down and hung loosely just barely scraping his shoulders, and his clothing was a dark grey and loose. The two teens settled down as they had been told.

The Jedi noticed a female Sullustan looking at them still, making him slightly uncomfortable. He smiled at her and said in a joking manner.

"Twins." The lady returned the smile looking at the two.

"I understand. My cousin has twins and they can be quite a handful. They have such different personalities don't they?" Her voice was soft and kind. She was traveling alone and looked like she was bored. Kanan decided to humor her a little to make their story more believable.

"Since birth, but I love them to death. They each have a little bit of their mother in them. I told them if their grades were up in school that I would bring them to Coruscant on a family vacation." Kanan relaxed in his seat. He watched the female stand up and get closer before sitting. She was older than Kanan, but still looked fairly youthful.

"How sweet of you. You must be a really good father. Are you meeting their mother on the planet?" Kanan glanced to Ezra, who was looking down. It wasn't show, he could feel the youth's emotions dip slightly at the mention of a mother. Kanan put a gentle hand on his shoulder.

"Unfortunately, they lost their mother just a few weeks ago in a horrible accident. This trip is going to be a good distraction, I'm hoping to take their minds off it." He smiled sadly, gently patting Ezra's shoulder before releasing it.

"Oh, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to pry…" The older woman looked a little embarrassed at having just brought up a horrible subject.

"No no, it's okay. My name is Darin Fenn by the way and these are my children." The Jedi said. He introduced each one proudly.

"Jaek here is my pride and joy. Takes after me; Top of his class and sharp as a tack. He wants to be a TIE pilot in the Imperial Navy when he grows up." Kanan said putting his hand on Ezra's head gently messing it up.

"And this gem stone is Kaida. She's also hoping to get accepted into an Imperial academy next semester and wants to be a Star-fleet captain. She looks just like her mother its uncanny." Kanan beamed like a father would after bragging about his children.

"Quit dad, you're embarrassing us." The older teen said as she looked away acting like she was embarrassed. Sabine actually liked the attention. It was rare, and even though fake, it reminded her of when things were better.

"My name is Charlena Eros. It's a pleasure to meet you three." She said still carrying the same soft smile.

"That's a beautiful name. What brings you to Coruscant, Charlena? If you don't mind me asking." Kanan asked innocently. There was something about the Sullustan in front of him, but he wasn't going to open himself up to the force this time. For now, he would just stay cautious.

"I don't mind at all. I'm going to the market strip. I love shopping but my husband is always so busy with Imperial matters, that I'm unfortunately always alone." Kanan seem to be formulating a plan from this new information. Ezra caught on to his master's attention change and started to pay better attention; at least as much as his fever would allow.

Ahsoka said that he was no longer contagious, but still suggested him stay behind so he could rest and not add extra stress to his body.

"If you wanted, my family can accompany you. It's been a while since I've brought them to a market and a pretty thing like you shouldn't be wandering alone. There are many dangers in this universe these days." Sabine watched, mentally cocking an eyebrow as Kanan seemed to flirt with the older lady.

" _Is he FLIRTING with that married lady? She's so much older than him and seriously? He can do so much better and we have things to do."_ She didn't question or let on to her slight annoyance.

Kanan looked back at the undercover Mandalorian, subtly winking.

"You said you needed new clothes sweetheart and you know I'm not good at picking out clothing. Maybe our new friend can help?" Kanan smiled at Sabine. The teen looked between the two adults finally catching on.

"Oh, really? I mean I haven't gone clothes shopping since mom...I don't want to be a bother Mrs. Eros…" Sabine looked down.

"Oh it's no problem at all dear, and please call me Charlena. I don't have children and probably won't have any ever, so it would be my pleasure. I understand what it's like being the only woman growing up. I had 5 brothers." She laughed softly.

"5? Wow...I just have Jaek and he's a pain all the time. He constantly plays pranks on me and takes my stuff. We're twins, but he acts more like a younger brother." The girl pointed at "Jaek" before giggling. She got up and sat down next to Charlena starting to talk with the older woman.

Soon the shuttle had landed and the passengers filed off. Kanan pulled Ezra to the side and whispered to him.

"Charlena might just be our ticket to success."

"Yeah, you sure were flirting with her enough. Which by the way, is extremely gross. She's like 20 years older than you. Besides, what about 'Mom'? " Ezra said, rolling his eyes.

"You need to stay focused Jaek. Her husband works for the Empire." He started, his student finished.

"Meaning that she might be able to help us." The youth added, keeping an eye on Sabine who was quite the charmer. He could tell that she was pointing out clothing tips to the older female.

Kanan noticed then that Ezra was looking fairly flush.

"Hey Kid, you holding up okay?" He felt the boy's forehead.

"Your fever has gotten worse." Kanan frowned. With Ezra purposely trying to stay closed to the force, it was allowing the disease to spread. He knew it still wouldn't get to Hera's level, but he needed him to be ready for anything, like escaping if things went South.

"I'm fine…" Kanan wasn't convinced. He turned and walked towards the girls with a worried frown. The two females stopped talking and looked up at him.

"Kaida, sweet heart, I'm sorry. Your brother isn't feel well, probably from all the travel. We need to get to the hotel room so he can rest before tomorrow." Sabine looked over to Ezra noticing that he did look fairly pale. She saw a small look on Kanan's face. After working so long with him she knew that was her cue.

"But dad…Jaek is always getting sick. Why can't he just go to the hotel and you and I can go shopping with Charlena. I was going to help her pick out a really cute outfit for the Imperial ball tomorrow night." Sabine made her voice crack slightly looking sadly at 'Darrin'.

"I know Kaida…but you-" Kanan inwardly grinned as Mrs. Eros took the bait.

"I can take your daughter shopping still Mr. Fenn. She seems like such a sweet child. If you give me your hotel address I can bring her back by after we're done, that way your son can rest and you can take care of him. There's also a medical facility nearby if he needs to go."

"Daddy please?" Kanan pretended to contemplate crossing his arms and bringing a hand up to stroke his chin as Sabine tried to beg him.

"Well…. I guess so as long as you promise to mind your manners and be respectful to Mrs. Eros." Sabine bounced over and hugged him.

"Thank-you Dad!" She backed away and walked back over to her new friend.

"Thank you so much Mrs. Eros. You are sure you don't mind? Teenage girls can be a handful when it comes to shopping." He handed Sabine some credits for show.

"I was a teenager once too Mr. Fenn. We'll have fun."

Kanan gave her the address to their hotel before watching them leave calling out.

"Have fun girls! and don't spend all of your money Sweetie!" She waved at the boys before disappearing into the crowd.

Ezra was standing next to Kanan looking miserable. He didn't have to act; the youth really didn't feel well. His bones were aching and his body felt weak all over. Kanan put a hand on his shoulder, heading towards their new destination.

Ezra would glance up at the man every now and then. The young Padawan, due to their bond, could feel how emotionally traumatizing this was for his master, but he didn't know how to help. Ezra started to look around, trying to picture what this looked like back when it was still the home of the Jedi.

Kanan had warned them before they left the _Ghost_ that there were cameras and microphones everywhere with constant surveillance and reporting to the Empire. Kanan had plenty of experience with that on Gorse years ago.

He instructed them to not talk about anything outside family vacation type things unless he gave the go ahead. Kanan also made sure to tell Ezra how important it was to not used the force, but try and mask it. Unfortunately, when Ezra attempted this, it let down his ability to heal faster.

The two continued to walk in silence until they got to the hotel and checked in. They pair took the lift up to one of the top floors and went to the room. Ezra got settled on a bed while Kanan check the room for bugs. Finding none the man sighed and relaxed.

"Get some rest Spectre 6. We'll see what 5 comes up with when she gets back from her shopping trip with that lady." Ezra nodded

"Do you think Spectre 2 is doing okay?" He asked quietly. He had never seen Hera sick and it was unnerving for the teenager to think about what would happen if they failed to get the root.

He finally settled down enough and shut his eyes, allowing himself to drift off. He didn't think he would be able to, but his body had other plans.

Kanan remained awake looking at the window of the tall hotel they were on. He remembered what it used to look like. The tall pillars, the nature and beauty. He glanced in the direction staring at the very spot that his clan housing used to be. Now it was a huge building no doubt for Imperial business.

All of it had been ruined by the Empire. He frowned and looked away from the window not wanting to feel anymore pain or bring back anymore memories. The Jedi sat down on the bed starting to meditate.

**BREAK**

Chopper beeped sadly as he watched his owner. Hera was getting worse by the hour and was no longer able to sit up unaided. Ahsoka had come aboard to help after an incident earlier. The Togruta left moments ago after taking care of her friend.

The bacta was helping with some symptoms, but the pain and fever was starting to overwhelm the Twi-lek's body. When Hera was told where the three were going, she got up to try and get to them before they , due to her weakness, she fell and was unable to reach her communications link that she had left on her nightstand. She remained on the floor, lacking the strength to get up for at least an hour before Chopper came in to check on her. The droid quickly contacted Ahsoka, and with her help, the pilot was able to get back in bed.

Since then, the little droid didn't leave Hera's side unless she asked him to get her something.

"Do you think they'll make it back with the root in time?" She asked weakly giving him a small smile.

Chopper answered her with a negative, extremely depressed response. The odds weren't in the favor of the rebels. It would take a miracle to pull this plan off.

"I think they'll make it…I have faith in them." Her eyes started to shut, but fluttered back open when Chopper asked her another question in binary.

"Ahsoka said three days…I can hang on til then. I'm going to try anyway. Time to rest now, if you need to charge your battery, go do so; don't know what I'd do if you ran out of battery." She smiled and reached out weakly patting her rusty friend affectionately before getting more comfortable, going to sleep.

The astromech stayed a little longer, making sure the pilot was asleep before he left the room to recharge. He wanted to be ready in case Hera needed him when she woke up.


	6. Chapter 6: Gun-Point

**Chapter 6: Gun-Point**

Kanan paced back and forth in the dimly lit room.

"How long does it take to act like a girl and buy clothes and try and get information? What is taking her?" Ezra heard the slight growl of frustration in his voice, but he also heard the concern.

It had been four hours and the female teen had yet to return. Ezra had been watching him for the last half an hour after waking up from his nap. Sleeping had done him some good and the youth was feeling slightly better, currently sitting cross-legged on the bed.

"Is this what you were like when I was at the Imperial Academy?" The youth asked with a grin spreading on his face. He was gone for multiple weeks; if his master was like with just a few hours he could only imagine how Kanan was during his absence.

"No I was not like this." The older man said in a defensive manner.

Kanan sat down quickly in a chair to prove his point. He sighed and looked down slightly.

"Actually, I was worse. It was your first solo op and it was taking a long time. How else was I supposed to feel?" No point lying, Ezra would have gone to one of the others and gotten the truth.

Ezra was about to make one of his sarcastic comments when he looked up. Despite staying closed off, he still felt when something was about to happen. The padawan glanced to the door seconds before someone knocked.

Kanan got up and looked through the viewer before opening the door.

"There's my girl! We thought you were going to buy the whole market." He said back in character like he had never stopped.

"Dad, Charlena took me to some really cool places! I got the most adorable outfits. We even stopped by a local Imperial art gallery! I wish we could have stayed longer." The older female said with excitement.

Kanan knew that Sabine wasn't interested in staying longer to look at the gallery. If the artist could have stayed longer, there would be additions to the art. The older man looked back behind her at the woman who was smiling.

"She's such a sweet girl Darrin. Very polite and smart." The older female smiled. She was holding a bag herself containing what Kanan guessed was her outfit Sabine helped her pick.

"Mr. Fenn, I don't know if it would be too much, but I would like to speak to you out in the hall for a moment." She smiled kindly. Something told Kanan not to, but he shook those thoughts away and nodded leaving and shutting the door.

"How's your son doing?" She asked quietly.

"He's still running a fever. If it's not gone by morning, I'll probably take him to one of the medical facilities here on Coruscant. The nap helped him though. Thank you for taking her. Kaida doesn't get much attention because Jaek is always getting into trouble, getting sick, or injured." The older man said, making sure to stay calm and in character. The force kept telling him something was about to happen but he didn't know if it was good or bad. Charlena took a step closer.

"It was no problem at all. Kaida talked highly of you the whole time. She respects you. You must be such a good father to your kids. I wish my husband was like you... Between the two of us…" The woman now stood inches from Kanan, looking up at him.

"My husband and I are going to be getting a divorce soon. He's never been married to me, only to his job. I was simply added to the equation for status. " Charlena looked down with a sad frown. Kanan backed up a little. The Jedi hadn't been expecting this and it caught him off guard when she moved right up against him looking up into his eyes.

"Mrs. Eros, I'm flattered, but I hardly think this is appropriate behavior. You are still a married woman and no offense, not really my type. Maybe I should walk you to where you are staying, it's getting late and you shouldn't be on the streets alone." The older human gently pushed her away. Charlena stepped back ashamed looking like she was about to start crying.

"I'm sorry. I know it's wrong but seeing how you were with your children. I don't have any love. I was just thinking that maybe you'd be interested." She let out a small sob.

"I'm sorry Mr. Fenn. I'll be taking my leave." She turned and started walking. Kanan had to think fast. Charlena would be an easy way to get the root, but not if she walked away.

"Charlena, wait please." He spoke gently, biting his lip. She stopped and Kanan hesitated.

"How about we go get a drink and then I take you home? Just let me tell the kids. I'll meet you in the lobby." Charlena smiled gently and nodded before leaving.

Kanan went back into the room.

"What was that about?" Sabine asked. She had been looking through the viewer.

"I'm going to take her for a drink and charm her. You two stay here. If something happens I want you both on the next flight out…I can feel something is going to happen…" He narrowed his eyes as he spoke.

"I do too. I have since we arrived. The force here is so tainted…it always feels cold. I don't like it Master…" Ezra said quietly looking down.

"I know kid. I know…Just stay out of trouble until I get back. 5, keep an eye on him. If his fever gets worse, leave a note and take him to a medical facility. Say something like an exchange student at the academy was on Ryloth recently and became ill.

Sabine looked over to Ezra worriedly before nodding.

"Be careful Spectre 1." Kanan nodded before leaving. She turned back to Ezra after the door shut and a few moments had passed.

"You thinking what I'm thinking?" She asked, watching him sit up weakly. She almost regretted the suggestion of disobeying their leader after seeing the effort it took him to move.

"Yep, Let's follow _Dad_ and see what he's planning." Ezra smiled before standing up. He was wobbly at first, but quickly was able to steady himself biting back the little pain he had.

"You sure you're up for it kid? You don't look so good…maybe we should listen to him." Sabine continued to watch him.

"Nope, I'm not leaving him alone with that woman. There's something about her that I don't trust. Let's go." The two left the room and snuck into the lobby seeing Kanan leaving with the Sullustan; the two were in a polite conversation. Ezra and Sabine quickly followed behind making sure to stay hidden.

* * *

Kanan arrived at a cantina with Charlena several minutes later. She had picked one that she said had good service and better drinks. He bought them a round of drinks while she found a table to sit up. The Jedi sat down next to her placing one of the drinks in front of her taking a sip of the other.

The two visited and talked for a while, the single drink lasting a very long time.

"I like you Mr. Fenn. You're good with children and not too bad looking either." The older Sullustan had continued to flirt with him through the evening. Kanan politely turned down every request.

"I'm flattered. I really am, but I'm just not interested Charlena. I'm too busy raising my kids and I think it's too soon for me to start looking. The whole thing is still very fresh." Kanan smiled.

"If you'd like an escort to your Imperial ball I'd be happy to take you though, just for companionship. I hear that not many actual officials get to show up and it's normally just the families." If he could just get in and find where they had that root.

"Very well Mr. Fenn…I should be getting back to my room now; it's getting rather late." She stood and headed for the door. Kanan followed her.

"I'm still a gentleman, let me take you back to your place so I know you got there safe." He offered her a kind smile and his arm to hold on to.

Ezra had never seen this side of Kanan. It wasn't show either; it was him actually being a kind and chivalrous person, qualities that were rare in these times, but were always seen among the Jedi.

Kanan walked her down the streets in the glow of the artificial lighting. They continued to talk and the Jedi received his instructions for the ball

"Will your children be upset with you Mr. Fenn for escorting me? This is supposed to be a family trip; I don't want to take that time away." They turned down a dark street, a shortcut, to get her to her hotel quicker.

"They'll be fine. There's a seminar tomorrow night for Cadets traveling on their vacation. I think it will be good if they go see it." Charlena nodded. She was now just walking besides Kanan.

Kanan looked up seeing that they hit a dead end.

"I think we got turned around and went down the wrong street." Kanan turned to head back out of the alley when he felt a gun pointed on his lower backside. The Jedi didn't have to look behind him to know who it was. Charlena had turned against him.


	7. Chapter 7: Hidden Motives

**Chapter 7: Hidden Motives**

"You're one of those rebels. Aren't you? Trying to use me to get to the Empire. Well it's not going to work." She stabbed the gun deeper in him. Kanan winced slightly before he turned around slowly, the gun now facing his stomach.

"I'm not quite sure what you mean Mrs. Eros. Who are these rebels you speak of?" He tried to play innocent while trying to come up with a plan. If he used the force, any dark force user on this planet would know and they would be killed in minutes.

"Don't play dumb with me. Your picture is all over the HoloNet. These eyes are trained to notice fine facial details. You're Kanan Jarrus. Just surrender quietly and I can bring you in and no one will get hurt. I already called the officials about your "kids"." Kanan's eyes widened before he tried to move away from the gun but it was of no use. He continued trying to think of how to get out or at least warn Ezra and Sabine that they were in danger.

"Look lady. It's not like that. I want no fight today. I'm just trying to get Gattis Root and it is only found here on Coruscant now." He gave up trying to convince the lady that he was someone else.

"Really now? I don't believe you." She kept the gun up against him preventing him from moving.

"I speak the truth. I need to get Gattis-Root for a sick friend, She's fallen ill with Bybbec fever and it's the only cure." The Sullustan threatening him seemed to relax slightly before tensing as Sabine and Ezra dropped down behind her.

"Whoa Easy, Easy!" He exclaimed trying to calm down the woman, fear actually evident in his voice. One wrong move and he would be very quickly dying.

Kanan winced slightly as she dug the gun in further due to her surprise. He held his hands up in surrender trying to calm her down before she accidentally shot him or punctured through his skin. He couldn't exactly grab her gun. If she screamed, the Imperials would be alerted. It was a delicate situation.

Ezra had his lightsaber in hand, in a fighting stance, fixing to activate the blade.

"Let him go lady and we'll let you go nice and easy." Ezra said with a glare. He wasn't about to let someone take his master away.

"Spectre 5, 6, Stand down. That's an order." The two looked at him confused but did so. Ezra re-hid his weapon from sight. He was going to get it later for disobeying Kanan, if they survived, but he figured it would be worth the risk.

Hearing Kanan telling them to stand down she relaxed again. The Sullustan looked up at him; Kanan saw something different in her eyes. Trust and understanding? Gratitude. Who was she?

"Is your friend, by chance, Hera Syndulla of Ryloth?" The woman asked earning a surprised look from the three. Now Kanan wanted to know exactly Who this woman was and how she knew Hera?

"Yeah, actually. How did you know? Who are you exactly?" Sabine asked, staying where she was but ready to leap into action. The lady let out a small chuckle dropping her weapon placing her pistol back in her clothing. Kanan relaxed rubbing the area where the barrel had been seconds before. Definitely going to leave a bruise.

"I know and have seen many many things in my years young lady. I'm truly surprised your father didn't recognize me, then again it's been more than half a decade and we only met briefly for a few days. My name is Zaluna Myder. Your father and I worked together once." Kanan's eyes widened before he let out a soft smile as his facial features relaxed ignoring, the two teenagers who continued to watch in confusion.

"Sorry about all of that "Darrin", can't be too careful, you of course understand. I needed to make sure that you really were on the right side of things still so I had to test you." She returned the smiled softly looking as if nothing had happened.

"Who the heck are you lady?" Ezra asked before falling into a coughing fit dropping to his knees as they gave out from weakness. Sabine managed to catch him and support him.

"He's getting worse from all the movement." The female teen got the youngest back on his feet and continued to support him.

"Let's get your son back to the hotel and I'll explain things. It is safe there." Zaluna spoke as if she had lots of knowledge about security and surveillance. She had far more knowledge than Sabine did, she had worked on the other side.

"Wait, you said you had called Imperials on us. They'll have swarmed the hotel by now looking for us. It's not safe to return." Sabine commented having heard the conversation.

"My dear, that was only a ruse. Part of my test. I wanted to see how your father would react."

Kanan nodded in understanding before he walked over and took over supporting his student. The four walked back in silence, heading to the hotel.

* * *

"Chopper, please go get me another bacta injection." Ahsoka said calmly. She had sat Hera up and was trying to get her to drink some water. The Twi-lek refused, lacking the energy and strength.

"You need to drink to keep your strength up Hera. Your friends are counting on you to be alive when they return with the Gattis-root." The Togruta tried again. This time Hera swallowed a few teaspoons. She had no energy and even swallowing was exhausting. It left her slightly out of breath.

Ahsoka had told them three days, but she was fading too quickly. Chopper came in with another series of injections for his owner. Ahsoka administered one.

"How long have they been gone?..." The pilot asked, her voice hoarse and barely above a whisper. Her eyes remained shut.

"24 hours, almost 25. There's still time my friend. Just have hope." She said gently. The older female changed the cloth on Hera's forehead to a cooler version before laying her back down making sure she was comfortable.

"Rest now. I will wake you to check on you later." She stood and left the room, shutting the lights off on her way out. Ahsoka could feel Hera's life slipping away. The Twi-lek wasn't strong in the force, but she was still a living being.

An attempt at Force healing had done nothing except provide slight relief from the pain. She needed to contact Kanan somehow and let him know the deadline changed. Let him know that Hera would survive another 30 hours at the most.

It was going to be a high risk, but it was one that she would take if it meant saving the pilot. She encrypted a message before sending it to Sabine's data pad. Ahsoka had encouraged the teens to bring the data pad and lightsabers against Kanan's wishes as a just in case. She warned them to keep the items hidden at all times unless it was a life or death situation.


	8. Chapter 8: Chilled

****Hey Guys! Sorry I didn't update yesterday. At least I don't remember updating yesterday. I've been really sick :P. Hope you are enjoying this story! Review what you think and if I get at least 10 reviews, with the vast majority of users and I'll post the 9th chapter!** ~Ocean**

 **Chapter 8: Chilled**

As they entered the room, Sabine's data pad beeped at her, signaling her received message. She pulled it out, ignoring the cocked eyebrow and unamused look coming from the Jedi.

"I thought I told you two no data pad, and NO weapons." His look finished at Ezra who was looking over at Sabine. Secretly, the Jedi was glad that they hadn't listened, he couldn't think of the reasoning of leaving them besides if they were to get caught. But if that happened they were screwed anyway.

"Ahsoka said it would be fine as long as they stayed hidden." The younger of the two said, forgetting about the Sullustan in the room.

"Ahsoka said that she would only contact us if it was life or death so it must be important." The Mandalorian stated as she pushed a few things and Ahsoka's face came into view.

"Oh, so you're saying Ahsoka gave you permission to disobey direct orders from me? Well that's just perfect." Kanan stopped when he saw the look on the former padawan's face. He could sense that she had no good news.

"My friends, I have made a fatal error when estimating Hera's life expectancy. Her health is deteriorating at an alarming rate, far faster than I originally thought. I give her, at most, 15 hours before she loses the battle with this disease. Please hurry." The image flickered before it disappeared.

Sabine stayed silent. She looked up at Kanan with a look that he could only describe as fear of loss.

"15 hours? It'll take 5 hours to get back to the ship. 10 hours is impossible when we don't even know where to find to stupid root" Ezra said having woken a little more, aware of the dire situation. Everything hurt and he felt sick, but Hera was more important right now.

"Yeah…so much for trying to do this a different way. Kanan we need to find the root, get in and get out." Sabine said still holding the data pad. Hera was like a mother to her and she didn't want to lose her.

"Calm down you two. We've had worse situations before and you both kept level heads, this is no different. We just need to concentrate on finding the root and stay focused." The Jedi's voice was calm, but deep inside he was just as panicked. He didn't let it show though.

"I know where the Gattis-root can be found." It was the first time Zaluna spoke up since they had arrived in the room. All eyes turned to look at her.

"I've travelled to Coruscant multiple times over the years, so I know my way around. It's found on a farm in the western region. It will take about an hour to walk there on foot. We can form a plan as we go. I know all the safe roads that aren't monitored." The older woman smiled slightly, her eyes held sadness over her friend. Hera had done so much for her years ago.

"Thank you Zaluna. You know you don't have to do this though, right?" Kanan looked at her with neutral eyes letting her know it was okay for her to back out.

"I know, but you guys did so much for me. I want to return the favor now that I am able to." She smiled.

"Alright then. Team, let's go." Without another word, they left, following the Sullustan down the alleys and streets. They walked with a quick step, but not enough to cause alarm to anyone paying attention.

Ezra was having a hard time keeping up; At one point, Kanan turned to see that he had stopped and was standing still with his arms crossed shivering. About the time he was going to tell him to hurry up. He felt it as well. The cold. The two Jedi looked up, seeing a star destroyer passing overhead.

"Do you feel that?...Kanan...it's so cold…" The youth said with a chill in his voice. Kanan nodded walking over to his padawan gently placing a hand on his shoulder, starting him walking again this time remaining close.

"We don't have much time. He'll know we're here." The Jedi spoke quietly, watching Ezra nod and force his body to quicken its pace.

If the Sith lord had arrived, there was a reason. If he knew they were on Coruscant, they would have much less than 10 hours to find, obtain the root and get the hell out of Dodge. Kanan wished that he had his lightsaber now, or something to protect his friends.

* * *

Within the hour they had arrived at a huge Imperial controlled greenhouse. It wasn't heavily armed with Imperials. Where they had absence of Imps however, was areas flooded probes and cameras.

"Zaluna? Any clue on how we get in?" He asked quietly as they ducked, barely avoiding detection of a nearby probe.

"Well, if we take the monitors out using the control room that's on the outside of the building. That will give you about 5 minutes to get in, get the root and get out because a droid comes to fix the glitch." She whispered; she didn't think they would be able to do it.

"5 minutes is plenty of time. Without the cameras, it will be easier to avoid the probes too. No problem for Kanan and I." Sabine said. She might not have her gear on, but she still had her stealth and grace.

"We've dealt with less time and more danger." Kanan said remembering a few months ago when they put the spike in the control tower. He felt his fear rise up but he suppressed it. He never wanted to go through that again; he never wanted to put his family through that. Everything would be okay, the Jedi kept telling himself.

"Alright, Zaluna get to work disabling it. When you're done, get out of here. If there's a fight, I don't want you caught in the middle of it." Kanan looked at her, remembering all that she had done for them on Gorse and Cydna.

"Thank you again my friend." He gave her a rare smile before it washed away to a determined frown.

"No thanks needed. You and Hera did so much for me years ago. It's time I return the favor. May the force be with you Kanan; with all of you." She smiled and headed off to the control room for the area.

"What about me Kanan?" Ezra asked. He was still slightly out of breath and in no condition to run. Kanan thought a moment looking around seeing a landing pad not too far.

"You're going to get us our shuttle out of here." Ezra nodded and they waited, moving in as soon as Zaluna gave a signal that the cameras had been shut down. Getting past the probes would be simple for the two Spectres.

"Kanan." Ezra stopped him. The Jedi looked back at him. His student was holding out the older man's lightsaber. Kanan smirked slightly. For once, he was glad that Ezra and Sabine had disobeyed orders.

"I brought this just in case. May the force be with you master." Kanan nodded taking the lightsaber.

"May the force be with you." He left, following Sabine.

Ezra left, heading for his destination. He stayed well-hidden, looking for a ship to commandeer. The youth's body ached and he was chilled because of his rising fever. No room to make a mistake though. Ezra remained focused on his task.

When he found one, Ezra made sure to secure it and get the vessel ready to leave. There would be no way of communicating with his mentor. They didn't have their comlinks. He thought for a moment before leaving a small sign that he knew Sabine would recognize. Just as he was about to climb aboard to hide, the young padawan felt an icy chill run through his body, touching his very soul.

The youth froze in fear; he knew the feeling. He looked over at the ship nearby. He knew the dark lord was on the ship, and waiting.

* * *

Kanan felt the chill in the force; however, he didn't stop his current task, there was no time. They had 9 hours to get the roots and get back to Hera. Sabine and him had gotten inside the building and ran down the rows of medicinal plants.

"Spectre 1, found it." Sabine said in a hushed tone. She stood over a small grid filled with the exact plant they needed. Kanan ran over.

"Good job Spectre 5. Let's get it and get out of here. We have 3 minutes." The two gathered up several roots before quickly leaving the building. Kanan was surprised to see Zaluna was waiting for them at the exit.

"Zaluna, you took a risk coming back. You should have run." Kanan looked to her with concern.

"I want to go with you, please? I haven't lived since those days long ago." She smiled when Kanan nodded, returning the smile.

"We could use your expertise with the fleet. Why not? Let's go." The three took off towards the landing pad.

"Which one?" The Jedi asked looking at the ships. Sabine looked around before speaking up quietly.

"That one." Sabine noticed a tiny etching of her starbird symbol. They filed on. Kanan was the last and hesitated gripping his lightsaber.

"He's here…" Wanting to avoid a fight, he quickly boarded the vessel and shut the ramp.

"Ezra, Zaluna, make sure that you're buckled in." Sabine took over the controls, hacking the system to make it seem like a normal take off. The spacecraft had little shielding to protect them if they were discovered. Zaluna took out the surveillance equipment while Kanan helped Sabine.

"Where's the kid?" Kanan asked. He had seen the sign and started looking in the cargo hold to see if he was hidden if not passed out. He started to panic slightly when he realized that he was getting further from his student's signature.

"Spectre 1. We have company." Sabine said. Kanan looked out the window. The starship that was next to them raised up following.

" _Kanan! HELP!"_ Kanan's eyes widened and his jaw dropped slightly at sudden communication of his student through the force. He felt Ezra's fear, and he felt the cold. He looked at the ship knowing who was on the ship with him.


	9. Chapter 9: Too Late

****Hello everyone. Here's another attempt at a larger battle scene, lol. Don't think I put enough description into it but oh well** **Anyway! Here it is! There might be a character death in the next 1-2 chapters…just saying! Enjoy! ** ~Ocean**

 **Chapter 9: Too Late**

"Sabine, get me on that ship before we leave the atmosphere!" Kanan shouted heading for the ramp.

Ezra was in trouble; he should have realized it sooner when the youth didn't greet them with some kind of remark about being late. Kanan felt his fear rising.

"Are you crazy!? We have a clear shot at getting out of here." The Mando said, ignoring his directive currently. She thought that Kanan planned to steal the ship to bring back to the fleet.

"Ezra is on _that_ ship with _that_ Sith Lord. Now get me close to that ship." Sabine nodded and moved the spacecraft closer. Kanan lowered the ramp staring out at the ship in front of him. He could feel the pain his student was in, in his chest. He willed the other vessel's ramp to open. As it did, he took a flying leap forward letting the force take him where he wanted to go.

* * *

Ezra backed away from the black clad figure in front of him. His lightsaber was out and activated. Hesitation and fear was written on his face. The padawan was trying to think of what possessed him to even board the ship to begin with; it was a stupid idea and now he was trapped. His emotions grew when he heard their getaway ship starting to leave.

"I can feel the darkness in you apprentice. You have much hate; you have much fear." The figure spoke through his mechanical box, just like last time they had met. Ezra could feel his power radiating all around; it was overwhelming.

"and I can see how ugly and stupid you look. I'm not scared of you." The youth leapt to attack but the figure simply lifted his hand causing Ezra to fly backwards, slamming into controls of the ship, crying out in pain softly as he made contact. He accidentally hit a button and the engines turned on and started to move. The two ships had been programed to follow one another and Ezra had managed to activate that feature.

The young teen slid off the control panel onto the floor remaining still for several moments, breathing heavily.

"That all you have?" The youth said through gritted teeth, he raised his head to look at the dark user in front of him.

Ezra was slow to get up, his mind and body already foggy from the fever. The youth reactivated his lightsaber trying to stay more defensive this time.

"Resisting is futile young padawan. Your master is foolish to think he can train you, he has much self-doubt. You are both weak and powerless. Your destiny is the dark side." Darth Vader spoke, drawing his sword pointing it towards the boy. Ezra planted his feet, trying to remember his training and trying to think of a plan to fight him. There was little maneuvering room on the vessel, at least for him to be able to easily dodge his physical attacks.

A memory played through his head after their first contact with the Sith.

* * *

"How…how do we fight him?" The youth asked still out of breath from their fight with the black figure.

"Fight him?" Kanan glanced over to him holding his right arm in pain. He turned his head to face his student with a darkened scowl.

"Ezra, we were lucky to survive." The two locked eyes for a moment before Hera stood, breaking their concentration.

* * *

In Ezra's distraction, the Sith grabbed the boy and threw him again, this time holding him against the wall starting to choke him slowly with the force causing him to drop his hilt with a loud clatter. Ezra struggled in vain, somehow knowing it was futile.

" _Kanan! HELP!"_ The youth's mind shouted through the force.

"That's right. Call to your master." Vader got right up in Ezra's face, close enough that Ezra could hear every single crackle the voice box made as the dark user breathed. He couldn't speak, he couldn't think, and soon the youth felt himself starting to lose consciousness.

Ezra concentrated as much as he could, he needed to survive. Willing the force around him. He reached out using all his strength and energy, sending the dark user flying across the main part of the ship. He dropped to his knees with the hold gone trying to catch his breath, grasping his throat still feeling the invisible hand.

Standing, he called his lightsaber, lighting it up before trying to take off to the exit. Right now, jumping off this ship would be better than the alternative that had presented itself.

Vader simply stood and walked almost in a casual manner towards the young teen.

"You will never be a Jedi, boy. Join the Dark Side now, while you still live." He repeated, pushing Ezra back about 20 feet. The ship was fairly small, leaving a lot of things for Ezra to hit as he took his force-caused flights.

"I don't think that's your choice, and like hell. All you guys look creepy." Ezra said threw gritted teeth.

Vader had to commend his persistence and his power, but he was done playing. He drew his sword again and they moved for each other. Ezra managed blocked his first attack, arms shaking as he tried to keep the red blade from hitting him, remembering the pain it had caused his master when the blade had struck his shoulder armor.

Vader reached out with lightening reflexes and grabbed the teen's dominant hand, flinging him into the window like a child's toy, causing it to crack and the ship to shift sideways. The youth didn't move from where he fell; his saber rolled from his hand. That impact had broken bones, temporarily blinding him with white hot pain.

Ezra felt the Sith lord approaching and he forced himself up, not wanting to just accept death. He called his weapon again, activating it. The youth was unable to stand straight because of the pain; his breathing was extremely ragged. Ezra was glad that Kanan wasn't there to watch, how disappointed would he be at his student for not being able to get a single swing in?

The young male shook his head to clear his mind. Blood was seeping down the back of his skull but he ignored it. He couldn't afford to lose focus, and yet he did.

Ezra felt that he should feel angry, that he should hate the person in front of him and kill him for everything he had done to hurt his friends and the galaxy. He could feel the dark side of the force swarming and threatening to take over. He took a breath. No, he was afraid, but being afraid was okay. He was afraid, but he wasn't alone. Ezra let that fear go as he opened himself up to the force fully before attacking again.

This time, the padawan moved with more precision and strength in a graceful and fluid motion. Ezra managed to block more attacks as the battle raged on, numb to the pain now. He smirked when he managed to catch the tail end of Vader's cloak, damaging it with his laser sword. Ezra felt the anger of the dark lord flare up, but he also could feel that his master was fixing to enter the ship. Kanan was there and would save him.

Vader felt the older man too. He wanted to make Kanan suffer by watching his padawan die right before his eyes so he ignored the oncoming passenger.

Kanan entered the ship getting on his feet fast and activating his lightsaber. He saw the two battling and he ran at them focusing his energy on going after the dark user.

The next moment happened in slow motion. Ezra moved to attack, but Vader was a step ahead of him swinging his blade to stab the teenager.

"Noo!" The Jedi shouted, pushing with all his strength. It caught the Sith off guard and he missed his initial target point, but it was too late. Kanan heard Ezra scream in pain as the blade connected with his flesh.

The Jedi watched his student fall to his knees as the Sith went crashing into the already cracked window, causing it to fully shatter, the black cloaked figure falling out managing to keep a grip on the ship. Kanan deactivated his sword and ran over to his student that had just falling completely to the floor face down.

Ezra was tightly gripping his side. When his master rolled him over, he looked up giving Kanan a small smile.

"I…got his…cloak…pissed him…off…" He coughed as blood began to fill his lungs from the multiple injuries he had suffered. Kanan noticed that his eyes were filled with unshed tears from the pain.

"Shh…save your strength…." Kanan looked up as he felt the cold disturb the force again. He saw Vader still holding on, starting to get up from his place.

"Let's get out of here." He grabbed the youth's lightsaber before throwing him over his shoulder as he had done so many times before heading for the ramp where Sabine was waiting. This time was different than the other times; his student hadn't connected with the dark side and hadn't been knocked out, but Kanan could feel his student's life slipping away as he ran to the ramp.

Zaluna was waiting for them to help with what she could. Kanan hesitated, their current ship not stable without a pilot manning the controls. The jump would be far, even for him. He didn't want to risk anything right now.

"Tell Sabine to get closer!" He yelled at the Sullustan. She relayed the message and soon Sabine was close enough to jump on. He landed softly.

"Shut the hatch. Sabine get us out of here!" He shifted Ezra to his feet, holding him up, so he could gently lay him down as the ramp started to close. Ezra was still conscious and tried to bear his own weight, but ended up failing.

Vader had other plans. He raised his hand and forced the hatch to stay open, lighting his saber. Kanan could feel the anger and hatred coming from the other force user, just as Ezra had done.

"I can't move Kanan!" The Mandalorian exclaimed from above them trying to move, but the whole ship was being locked down. Kanan heard a scream from next to him coming from the older woman standing next to him.

She was being raised up into the air, struggling to breath. Kanan set Ezra down and activated his lightsaber. He was fixing to jump again to battle with the other force sensitive, when Vader threw the Sullustan. Kanan quickly changed his mind, grabbed Ezra's blaster and shot at him. Vader easily deflected all but one; One that missed him completely with deliberate intention.

"Have a nice landing your lordship!" The dark one looked at Kanan, seeing the Jedi smirking, before he looked at where Kanan had hit, causing him to lose his focus of the ship in his grasp. Kanan had hit the main engine that started to spark before bursting into flames. This gave the rebels enough time to take off.

As soon as she calculated, the teen jumped them into hyperspace leaving the system.

She leapt out of her seat and jumped down into the cargo hold. Her face drained of all its color at what she saw. Zaluna had managed to get up into a standing position, watching the remaining two sadly.

Kanan was kneeling over his student; his eyes wide and scared. His hand was gripped over Ezra's trying to stop the bleeding and comfort the teen. Sabine was no Jedi, but she knew Ezra was in pain. She could feel it. She saw Kanan's eyes, she could see the panic, but also something else. Knowing. Was Ezra going to die?

"Kanan? I have a direct course set to the _Ghost_. Due to the speed of this craft, we'll arrive in 6 hours. Still enough time." She tried to act neutral, to stay calm but her voice still waivered.

"That's too long, Ezra isn't going to last that long. Sabine, get me to the closest medical treatment facility. Now!" He didn't see her leave, but knew she had followed directions. Zaluna watched for a moment before she took off after Sabine to help her locate one.

Ezra's eyes opened again, and the deep blue pools looked up at his master. Kanan saw the fear once again. He tried to calm his student.

"I'm…scared….so…cold…" Ezra said weakly, struggling to produce the sound to make the words he spoke. He had never felt so much pain. He thought that someone had injected him with fuel and lit a flame.

"It's okay Ezra. I'm right here. You're safe. We'll get you taken care of." Kanan felt his hands shaking, he hadn't felt it, he should have realized sooner; he hadn't gotten there in time, and Ezra was probably going to die because of his mistake.

* * *

The Togruta felt the disturbance; while she had no master/padawan bond, she had become friends with the other two Jedi and she knew something had happened. She looked over at the Twi-lek; Hera's breaths were coming in very shallow, each inhaled motion sounded painful as her ribs shifted and moved.

Because of the bone pain associated with the disease, Ahsoka had stopped trying to shift and move Hera around knowing that each slight movement was torture to the younger female.

"Chopper, will you please start a transmission with Sabine? I feel that something has happened." Chopper beeped in acceptance and located Sabine's data pad, starting a transmission.

"Ahsoka, we have the root and we'll be there within 7 hours. We have to take a detour. That Sith Lord showed up and attacked us. Ezra is severely wounded. I don't think he's going to make it, but we have to try. We need to get him to a medical treatment facility closer to where we are before he bleeds out." Her words were panicked but her face held a calm expression.

"Alright. Please be careful. I will await your return." The older female glanced at Hera.

"Hurry Sabine, she's running out of time." Ahsoka ended the transmission, she looked back to see the pilot's eyes opened slightly. She had heard, but she was too weak to do anything.

The Togruta continued to take care of her while waiting for the others.


	10. Chapter 10: Treatment

****Sorry I'm slow guys! Still sick and on another week of bed rest :P I'm hoping to get a lot of writing done, but we'll see. Hope you enjoy the chapter, make sure you review :) ** ~Ocean**

 **Chapter 10: Treatment**

On a planet nearby the Coruscant's system, Zaluna had managed to find a facility that wasn't entirely run by Imperials, and was actually known to have rebel sympathizers running it. When they had arrived, Kanan didn't care about the risks, he couldn't.

"Okay, so who's the mother? Ezra doesn't look like he has Twi-lek in him and neither does Sabine." The Sullustan asked quietly as she got settled in the hard chair. The medical droid had been nice enough to bring them for the non-patients to sit. The whole time he grumbled about them being in the way.

Kanan wasn't paying any attention. His focus was on the teenager fully submerged in the bacta tank. The boy had no color and the wound he had sustained had missed most vital organs, but his left lung had been damaged. Ezra also suffered from a fatal loss of blood. The last part struck a strange cord. Usually a light saber would cauterize the wound and prevent it from bleeding. Had Vader done something else that Kanan didn't notice?

A part of his subconscious mind gripped onto Zaluna's speech and he was brought from his thoughts.

"Hm?...oh. He's not really my son, and Sabine's not my daughter. Ezra's my apprentice and Sabine is one of the crew members. I guess in a way we are a family though…" Kanan said calmly, with most of his attention still focused on Ezra.

The medical droid told them that it could be months before Ezra woke from his coma. They didn't have that much time; sooner or later they would be discovered. The Jedi was trying to formulate a new plan of action. As long as the Empire didn't find out about them using this underground facility, his student would be safe. Kanan didn't feel comfortable leaving him though and so he sent Sabine with the roots back to the fleet. Zaluna had stayed with the Jedi to keep him company.

"You act like a father towards them, that's for certain." She smiled a little watching as the older man sighed looking away from the tank and finding a seat.

"You would think they were siblings with how much they bicker and tease each other. They're both young, and have lost their family one way or another. They needed guidance from their past; I've had plenty experience with that and so I guess I've assumed that role. Hera has a major role in taking care of them too." A small smile twitched on his face before it relaxed again into the normal position.

"What about you? Did you ever have any kids?" They weren't going anywhere, might as well find something to pass the time.

"Me? No, I wasn't lying about that. I spent my whole life behind the scenes on Gorse and the mines that I gave up that part of my life long ago, now I'm too old." Kanan noticed that there was some regret in her voice, but he ignored it.

"You got your sight back. When we left you, you were blind." The fact that the older woman could see perplexed him. When they had left, Hera offered to find her a place that would repair her sight. Zaluna declined, saying she didn't want to have her sight fixed because she had seen too much, but here she was able to see just like him or anyone else.

"Surprisingly, my eyes healed on their own. I took it as a sign, and I've been working with a doctor on Coruscant to help my vision. No prosthetics, implants or transplants though. Just medicinal drops and things. I couldn't help but learn all the security systems on the planet though. It just…happens naturally. I guess when you pay attention to everything for over 30 years it's hard to give it up on a subconscious level." Zaluna leaned back watching Kanan watch her. Kanan allowed a small but sullen smile to cross his face.

"I know that feeling all too well. Old habits die hard. I tried to get rid of my past, but it caught back up to me with a Twi-lek and one boy." Kanan said motioning to the unconscious teen floating in the liquid.

Kanan remembered when he was about that age and had been shot. He spent time in a bacta tank. Being in there was a wonderful feeling, it was after you were conscious and reality came back to you. Depression would hit and normally patients needed treatment for that.

"I'm glad that you paid as much attention that you did. And that we ran into you; without your knowledge, we would have never gotten the root or been able to get off the planet. You have my gratitude and everyone else's, for all you have done." Zaluna smiled sweetly at his praise.

"You're a good man Kanan. Who knew that a drunk, suicide flying, reckless young man would turn into what I see before me. Hera must have had some influence in that." Kanan smiled and nodded.

"Yes, she definitely calmed me down quite a bit. She helped me to start rediscovering who I was. We're not an item or anything of that sort, but we are partners and best friends. I trust her with my life and she does the same." The Jedi's words trailed off as his mind wandered to the Twi-lek in question. He hoped Sabine had gotten to her in time. The Mando said that when she arrived she would make contact, that had been almost half a rotation. Kanan was starting to become concerned that something had happened.

**BREAK**

Sabine docked her stolen ship and was soon walking down the corridor of the familiar, but silent ship. She felt a little displaced; normally Chopper was beeping and causing problems for Zeb and Ezra who were, in turn, usually causing so much noise that Hera would be barking orders of chores. That or Kanan and Ezra would be arguing about their most recent training practice. Ahsoka opened the door right before she got there.

"I sensed your return."

"How is she?" The girl asked quietly. The older teen handed the roots to Ahsoka, glancing behind the Togruta at the female that had become like a mother to her.

"Alive for now…You can see her; I'm going to get this prepared. I shall return soon." The force user left with the roots as Sabine entered the room sitting in the unoccupied chair next to Hera's bed.

Very gently the Mandalorian took her hand and just held it for comfort noticing how cold the extremity was.

"We're back Hera…well, I'm back anyway. We got you the root. Now you'll get better and we can go pick up the boys." She knew that if Hera wasn't sick that she would frown, showing her concern over the fact that the girl had returned alone. Knowing that Hera wasn't conscious, the Mandalorian still continued explaining what happened, feeling that she needed to.

"They're in an underground medical facility right now. Ezra was injured badly and Kanan said that if he wasn't put in bacta he would not have survived the trip back here. I'm worried about them Hera. I wish you were awake, you'd know what to do, tell me how I should feel." Sabine looked down. She knew it was childish that a Mandalorian such as herself should feel this way; they were supposed to be proud warriors not fazed by anything especially death and injury.

That was very far from the truth right now. Hera always helped her sort out her feelings and help her make the right choices. Getting silence, Sabine sighed and just fell silent letting her eyes shut as she listened to the pilot breathing raggedly.

Ahsoka came in several minutes later with a very large syringe, injecting the dark serum into the IV drip bag connected to Hera.

"Is she going to be okay now Ahsoka?" The girl asked as she looked up at the older female.

"She's a fighter Sabine. Only time will tell, but I think she has a good chance. You should rest now, you've had a long journey. When you have woken we will discuss plans about Kanan and Ezra's safe return." The words weren't very reassuring, and Ahsoka knew it, but she wouldn't lie to the girl. Hera's organs had been shutting down. Only Hera's will would be able to save her now that the Gattis-root was in her system.

"Alright." The girl stood up knowing there was no sense in arguing. She was exhausted. Sabine walked to her cabin and climbed in bed. Within moments, she was asleep, completely forgetting to contact Kanan and give him an update.


	11. Chapter 11: Honored Sacrifice

**** Bring on death! Hope you're enjoying. Off to bed now that it's past midnight! Enjoy!** ~Ocean**

 **Chapter 11: Honored Sacrifice**

"Hey Kanan?" The Jedi groaned looking up from his place on the floor. Had he really fallen asleep? Thinking back, it had been days since he had slept. Even with all the training, his body had finally had enough abuse. Now the question was, how long had he been asleep?

Kanan sat up looking around his eyes moving to Ezra before shifted and resting on the female that had called him. He sensed her the urgency in her voice. He felt the force, something was about to happen.

"What's wrong?" He asked standing up.

"I've been tapped into the security. They know we're here somewhere and they've deployed several troops." Her voice wavered slightly, she was scared.

"I guess it's time to go then." Kanan walked over to the tank. He knew it was still too early but maybe some of the damage Ezra had suffered had been reversed. The Jedi set to work starting to get ready to remove his student when the Medical droid came in.

"Sir, the patient needs to remain in the tank. His body is still unstable. If you do thi-" Kanan reached out and shut off the droid.

"Don't need some annoying droid telling me what I already know." Kanan continued as Zaluna watched the feed.

"They're a few blocks away. There's an ISB agent with them." The Sullustan commented quietly.

"That's probably Kallus I'd imagine. Just means it's really time to go." Kanan went faster.

Soon he had Ezra out and had placed him on the table, drying him. The youth was still in critical condition, but he was either going to die by Imperials, or die on his way back to the _Ghost_. Kanan figured he'd choose the latter.

Ezra groaned weakly.

"I know kid. Hope you had a nice dream because we're back in reality." The older man dressed him before throwing him over his shoulder gently.

"Alright, let's go." Kanan said with his normal, mission mode face, before the three left. Zaluna led them through backways that she had quickly memorized.

"I think something happened to Sabine. I never got confirmation that she reached the fleet. I'll try contacting them when we find a ship." The human spoke to the Sullustan as they ran down the streets. The older female kept lagging behind, reminding Kanan that she was much older than him. He slowed, letting her catch her breath.

"There's a freighter ship here that I borrowed from a friend. I always dock here and take a shuttle to Coruscant. We can use that; I trust you can fly one still? because I always have it on auto-pilot." She asked with a small smile. He returned it.

"You bet. Where is it?" He asked as they continued at a fast pace.

"It's at the Southern docking bay. Number 35A. We can check on Sabine when we get there. I hope you're wrong, maybe she forgot?" She said still winded.

"Ezra might forget to check in, but she would never forget, not unless something happened…" Kanan pushed aside negative thoughts of something happening to her, or arriving too late.

They made their way, finally reaching the bay. Kanan could feel they weren't alone. He managed to get them all down behind a group of crates right as storm troopers were filing in to search the area. Ezra groaned as Kanan put him down, his master quickly put a hand over his mouth to silence him sending calming signals through the force to put him back to sleep.

He motioned for Zaluna to stay silent. She peeked through a tiny opening between crates as Agent Kallus entered.

"Any signs of the rebels?" He asked in his annoying nasal voice. The trooper that was in front of him responded.

"No sir. We've checked the North and East Docking Bays." All their voices were made to sound alike, trying to tell them apart without their helmets on was impossible.

"They're somewhere on this planet. Lord Vader said the padawan was gravely injured; this is the closest place with a bacta facility they could have landed. Search every inch of this city!" Kallus was, as usual, frustrated, but Kanan could feel his fear, most likely from the Sith Lord.

"Yes sir!"

The two watched as all the troopers filed out after finishing their search, including the search of the ship. Soon all that remained was the ISB agent and the Troop Leader. The bucket head held his head as if getting a transmission.

"Sir, they found a medical droid in an underground facility that has identified the rebels. He said that it was an adult male matching the description of the Jedi, an unknown elderly female, and the kid." Kanan rolled his eyes slightly; only he and the crew were allowed to call Ezra that nickname. Part of him wanted to jump out and end them but he restrained himself. His priority was getting all of them on the ship alive.

"Excellent. Make sure the city is under full lock down. No ships are allowed to leave or enter. I will inform Vader." Kallus said something else that Kanan was unable to hear. It didn't matter to him, probably just worthless information. The two left the hangar. Kanan waited several minutes before starting to come out.

"Let's go." He grabbed Ezra starting to head for the ship.

"Kanan wait!" Zaluna started to whisper, but it was too late. Had he waited, he would have quickly found out that by lip reading; the seasoned security monitor saw that he knew the ship belonged to her and that they were going to hide.

"Hello, nice of you to drop by. Such a pity to hear about your padawan." Kanan's eyes narrowed as he heard the malicious ISB agent's voice behind him. He gripped his light saber tightly and activated it turning around to face Kallus.

"Pleasure seeing you again for like what? The 500th time? Too bad we can't be friends. Sorry we can't stay, but I have a schedule and you're not on it." The Jedi taunted. He glanced to where Zaluna was hiding, she was still undetected but now he needed to get her, get to the ship and get out of there. He hoped that there was shield and guns on the ship; if not, they wouldn't be going too far.

"Yes, it's too bad. I have someone that wants to speak with you in person." Kanan saw a small glint in his eyes as they shifted ever so slightly.

"Kanan look out!" The Jedi found himself forcefully shoved sideways as a blaster went off. Ezra and him landed on the floor hard. He looked up, he knew exactly what happened before he saw it. About 5 feet from him was Zaluna crumbled on the ground.

"Zal?" His eyes widened.

He felt the troopers advancing and he stood, pushing them all back to buy him time. Throwing his student back over his shoulder, he helped the older female up and supported her towards the ship. Practically throwing them in he quickly grabbed his lightsaber again and deflected shot after shot, determined to not let another shot hit one of his friends.

Soon the Jedi saw that he was being outnumbered and loosing time that he already didn't have. He shut the ramp and ran to the cockpit getting the engines started as he flicked switches, pushed buttons and inputted information. He felt the ship shake as streams of blaster shots hit the hull but slowly they raised into the air.

He took the controls and lifted himself out of the hangar heading off. The ship was fairly fast, not as customized as the _Ghost_ but manageable. He was almost out of the atmosphere when he heard the screeching engines of the fighter vessels coming towards him. The ship had front facing cannons, but that was it.

"Kanan?...Tell me what to do…" Ezra was gripping onto the wall weakly, he had dragged himself to the room. The teenager was tightly gripping his left side. Ezra didn't feel well. He felt like he was dying, but he knew that Kanan needed him. He had woken up when he sensed it.

"If you can make it, get to the cannons and try to blast those things." He didn't see Ezra leave; he was too busy dodging the onslaught of shots reigning down on the ship.

"Of all the times I really need Hera! I hope that she's enjoying her rest and relaxation" Kanan dodged and pulled the ship upwards trying to gain the upper hand by getting behind the TIEs to give Ezra a shot. Witty comments during battle were second nature to the adults on the ship. It kept the atmosphere light and more easily manageable. Hera wasn't there to banter back and Kanan fell on deaf ears.

Ezra sat in the seat trying to focus. He was breathing hard and couldn't think with all the pain. Kanan was right above him, sensing his student starting to fade out again.

"Don't worry about aiming Ezra. Just use the force, concentrate and focus. Don't look at what's out there, _feel_ what's out there. You can do this." Kanan stayed calm, he knew Ezra was having a hard time. He was surprised the youth was conscious.

Ezra did as he was told and lightly grabbed the guns. A blast rocked the ship causing him to lose focus for a brief moment but he quickly got it back. Kanan needed time to set the hyper drive. His master watched proudly as Ezra took out two TIES in just a few moments, giving him the opening he needed sending them into hyperspace leaving the remaining fighters behind.

"Great job!" Kanan set the autopilot and stood up. His smile faded as he remembered Zaluna. The older human rushed to the cargo hold and over the female.

"Zaluna?" He propped her up gently. Her eyes opened slightly and she looked at him. She gave him a small smile. The Jedi could feel the life draining from her body. He watched her with a sad expression.

"Tell Hera I said hi?" The older woman knew she wasn't going to live, she could feel the coldness engulfing her. It felt almost peaceful though with all that she had endured in her life.

"I will. You did well my friend, I owe you our lives. Farewell…" He watched as her eyes dulled and she exhaled for the last time, the smile relaxing from her face. Kanan sighed and looked down, gently shutting her eyes. He had learned how to deal with loss. It was a part of war. She had sacrificed herself and it would be honored.

The Jedi placed her body on a bed in one of the cabins. He would make sure she had a proper burial. After he covered her with a blanket he left to find his student. Ezra was struggling to make it down the hall. Sensing it before it started to happen, Kanan was able to catch him as Ezra stumbled and fell.

"We have a few hours before we get back." He said helping the youth into another cabin. It was very similar to Hera's ship that it was uncanny. The room they were in now would have been Hera's room.

Kanan helped Ezra lay down and get him settled.

"I'm going to go find a medical pack. Stay here and rest." Ezra nodded at his order, not wanting to move, and shut his eyes. Kanan got up and left. He looked around, cursing when he couldn't find what he was looking for. He gave up and went back to the cockpit; it was time to try and find out what happened to Sabine.


	12. Chapter 12: Checking In

**** Sorry it took so long for me to update. My computer crashed and I didn't have this story on my flash drive so I'm having to go back and rewrite lol. Enjoy** ~Ocean**

 **Chapter 12: Checking In**

After several failed attempts at reaching the older teenager, Kanan finally contacted the _Ghost_. He was scared that it was too late, that Hera didn't make it, that was why he waited this long to make contact. His fears calmed when Ahsoka's relaxed person came into view.

"Kanan, I was wondering when you would get into contact with us. Hera is starting to stabilize. It appears Sabine made it just in time." She said with a small smile.

"It wasn't easy, that's for sure. We had several run ins with the Empire. Is Sabine okay? I've been trying to communicate with her for over an hour now. I was starting to worry something had happened and she didn't make it. It's not like her to forget an order." Kanan relaxed a little as he spoke. Hera was going to be fine.

"She's still asleep. I am to blame for her not contacting you. I told her to go rest, she was exhausted. I am sorry." The Togruta bowed her head slightly in apology.

"It's okay. As long as they're both safe. Ezra and I will be there in three hours." Kanan glanced to the empty co-pilot chair. He was fixing to end the transmission. The older female noticed his eyes shift.

"How is he? Sabine said that he had been injured by Vader in a fight." The very name spoken still sent chills down her spine. Vader had killed her former master and it still hurt. The Jedi stopped before he pushed the button and sighed.

"Not good. He was in the bacta tank long enough to stabilize, but I don't know if it will last and if it does, how long. With the Bybbec Fever still in his system, his body is already weakened. I don't even know how he's managing to hang on, he lost a lot of blood..." The Jedi sighed rubbing his face slowing himself to slouch sideways in his chair. It still baffled him how the lightsaber drew blood.

"His will is strong Kanan. He's not one to give up so easily. I will make sure there's a medical droid to treat him when you return." Kanan nodded in agreement.

"Thanks." He was starting to miss his normal banters and one liners with Hera.

"How is Zeb doing? Is he getting bored yet? Or has he found someone else to torment?" He decided to lighten the subject of discussion.

"He's actually on a mission with Rex right now. They were sent to Lothal to gather important information. With the Imperial fleet gone, it's easier to get onto the planet. Those two form a good partnership most likely because of their love of fighting the Imperials." Ahsoka thought back to how Rex was when she was a padawan.

He never backed down from a fight and was a great soldier. She wondered if he knew about the betrayal of her master. She didn't have the heart to tell him in case he didn't know.

"Well I'm glad he's not sitting around doing nothing. Hope Rex can handle him; he can be just a reckless as Ezra sometimes. If you can afford to, get some rest Ahsoka. We'll be there in a few hours. Thank you."

"Don't worry Kanan, Rex's General during the clone wars was pretty reckless. Kanan ended the transmission.

For the longest time he stared at the stars as they passed by. Memories of Hera, Zaluna and him trying to best Count Vidian flashed through his mind. He would never admit, but getting to be part of that team many years ago had reminded the Jedi of who he really was. Not a gunslinger, not a suicide flier. He was a Jedi and sworn to protect those that couldn't protect themselves. Hera tried for years to get him to embrace his past that had been unburied, but it was Ezra that had succeeded.

The painful memories continued to flash through until Kanan finally gripped the arm rest of his chair in mental pain before letting go of everything and standing. He left the cockpit to go check on Ezra.

* * *

Sabine entered the room right as the transmission ended. As soon as she woke, she realized her mistake in forgetting to contact her leader and was coming to do so. She saw his image fade.

"He mad?" the girl said, leaning against the door frame crossing her arms. It was a stupid question, of course he was upset. He was probably concerned that she didn't make it. She was mentally beating herself because of not remembering.

"No, he is glad that you are safe." The older female turned towards her.

"How's Hera? How is Ezra?" Sabine entered the room sitting down. She was worried about her friends.

"Hera is stabilizing; you were able to get here just in time. It will still be a while before she is well enough to pilot, but she will live. I do not know about Ezra. Kanan said that he is stable for the time being." Ahsoka looked down a little narrowing her eyes. Revenge wasn't the Jedi way, and it wasn't her way either. Justice would eventually have to be served though.

"Alright. Now that I'm awake, you should take a turn to rest. You've been up just as long as the rest of us. Me and Chopper have things." Sabine smiled as she offered rest to the former padawan. Ahsoka returned it.

"First I need you to administer a dose of the medication." Ahsoka had another syringe.

"I've already been vaccinated for the disease at the academy." Sabine didn't like needles, she watched as Ahsoka moved closer.

"The vaccine must be administered every 3 years. You're already running a fever and I can feel the exhaustion in your body." The older female didn't give the teen a chance to run or find an excuse. She gave the injection.

"I will leave to rest now. Let me know if you need anything." The older sentient left the room leaving Sabine alone in the room. She left to go check on Hera.

Hera was still in the same position from when she had first come back. She saw that she was breathing easier though. The girl smiled. She pulled the chair closer and sat down watching over Hera while she slept.

* * *

Kanan sat down next to Ezra's sleeping form on the bed. The teen's master gently put his hand to his forehead feeling the burning fever. The cool touch woke up Ezra and he looked up at his mentor. Kanan knew he was full of questions so he started to answer them before they could be asked.

"Hey. I just talked to Ahsoka. Hera will be fine, Sabine got there in time." Kanan spoke quietly and in a calm manner so that the emotions would pass over to the padawan.

"Zaluna?..." Ezra questioned weakly. When he had gotten up earlier, he had seen her laying there. He frowned when he saw Kanan's face drop into a sad expression before he shut his eyes and shook his head.

"She didn't make it…She sacrificed herself so that we could get on the ship." The teen nodded slightly shutting his eyes.

"I'm sorry…" Ezra stated quietly. If he hadn't been injured, they would have all been back at the ship now.

"Don't be. It's a risk that comes with war. She understood that and there was nothing you could have done." Ezra started to sit up to protest, but was gently pushed back down.

"Just rest, you're still in no condition to move." He covered the youth back up and tucked him in.

"We'll arrive in a few hours; I'm going to go rest myself." Kanan stood and walked to the door. He didn't have to see the nod of his student before leaving. Ezra was already well on his way to being asleep again.


	13. Chapter 13: Force Healing

**Chapter 13: Force Healing**

"Welcome back Spectre 1 and 6." Sabine said over the radio as the freighter docked with the _Ghost_.

"Glad to be back Spectre 5." The Jedi said as he killed the engines and went to grab his padawan.

Ahsoka and Sabine waited at the dock. The door hissed open revealing Kanan supporting Ezra. The younger human looked ready to pass out and was hardly conscious as is.

"I have the medical droid waiting in your room Kanan." Ahsoka said as she led them down the hall staying with their pace.

"I must admit, it's good to be back home." Commented the Jedi, he was starting to move slower. Each step was causing Ezra an immense amount of pain and Kanan found that he was supporting the youth more and more.

The four entered the cabin, with Sabine staying in the doorway. Kanan got Ezra settled and let the droid take over treatment of the teenager.

"I'll be back kid." The older human said as he stood up and left the room. He needed to confirm that Hera was still alive.

"Where's Zaluna? Did she change her mind about joining the fleet?" Sabine asked. She was looking forward to getting to find out more about Kanan's past through her; Zaluna was a very interesting character. She watched the Jedi's eyes flash in pain briefly before he looked down.

"I'm sorry Kanan…" The Mandalorian shared his brief mourning before straightening. Kanan's demeanor had shifted back to neutral as he had been trained to do with loss.

"It's okay. Because of her, we were able to get away. How's Hera?" The two walked the few steps to Hera's room.

"She hasn't woken up yet, Ahsoka said that it would be a while before she had regained enough strength to wake. She is going to be fine though." Kanan opened the door and walked in slowly.

The room was dimly lit with just enough light to see. Kanan walked over and sat in the chair next to the bed, watching her for a moment. He was surprised to see that she was actually awake. Hera was a fighter; it would take more than a fatal Twi-lek disease to take her out. He smiled.

"You made it…." She rasped out weakly giving him a tiny smile. He gently took her hand feeling that it was warm.

"We did. From what I've heard, you'll be fine soon enough and back behind the controls in no time. Just rest and concentrate on getting better." She nodded slightly shutting her eyes in pain from the movement.

Kanan didn't tell her about Ezra, or Zaluna. There would be time in the future for that.

The two stayed like this for a while, enjoying the silent company, until Sabine called him gently from the doorway. Kanan had forgotten about the Mandalorian teenager that had followed him.

"Hey Kanan, Ahsoka wants to talk to you." Her voice didn't sound happy anymore. Kanan nodded and got up leaving the, now sleeping, Twi-lek. The brown haired man walked back to his room where Ahsoka and the droid were waiting.

"So how is he?" Kanan crossed his arms leaning against the wall. The Togruta let the droid talk.

"Upon a preliminary diagnosis, the patience has suffered internal damage, a severe concussion, broken ribs and has tested positive for Bybbec Fever. He has a wound caused by a laser that has caused damaged to the upper left quadrant of his abdomen and he appears to have shrapnel in the same area." Kanan cocked his eyebrow. Sometimes he questioned their ability; if Kanan had done tests, he would have discovered the same thing.

"Okay, and the treatment plan?" He asked in an unamused tone. He just wanted Ezra to get treated and get better.

"I recommend a bacta tank treatment. I have a list of all the treatment facilities in the system. Would you like me to pull them up?" The droid was friendly enough, but still not giving the answers that Kanan wanted.

"That is not an option right now. What other treatment options are there?"

"I have already given him the medication compound for the Bybbec Fever. I can continue to treat him according to protocol but he has massive internal damage, without proper techniques or equipment, it is only a matter of time before his organs fail and he dies." Ahsoka could feel Kanan getting frustrated, not wanting to lose her medical droid, the Togruta dismissed him.

"That will be all, thank you. I will call you back in a moment." The droid started to protest, but a small look from Ahsoka moved him along. Once he was gone, Kanan sighed.

"You need to calm down my friend. Ezra is seriously injured and the droid is doing its job." She said in a calm voice. She knew he was frustrated and exhausted; one of which could be fixed quicker than the other.

"I just need to know what equipment he needs and I'll go out and get it." Kanan just wanted this nightmare to be over.

"I have a better idea. We can use the force to speed up the healing process, then have the droid remove the foreign objects in his body." The older woman suggested getting a nod from Kanan.

Kanan had never been able to force heal, but he could lend his energy to the other former padawan that could. He walked over, gently placing his hand on Ahsoka's shoulder and shut his eyes. The Togruta did the same, extending her hand over the youth's body.

Using Ahsoka as an extending branch to his padawan, Kanan could feel all the damage the teenager had suffered. He began to lose focus, as Ezra's pain intensified.

"Focus Kanan…I need you to focus..." The older of the two gently chided. She knew that he was feeling everything on a different level because of their bond. Kanan nodded slightly and refocused his attention.

She continued to concentrate on the boy before them. Using the force to meld around the injuries and work on rebuilding the cells that had been destroyed. When she was finished, both were slightly out of breath.

Ahsoka went and got the medical droid again. Walking back in with him. Kanan stood and watched. How did he not notice? Ezra had been injured because of the lightsaber, but the bleeding was from glass that had embedded itself in his body.

"Please make sure that all debris is removed from his body. Treat him to protocol and keep us updated." Ahsoka was good with medical droids, she had worked alongside of many during her time as a padawan.

"Is he going to be okay Ahsoka?" The Mandalorian asked. She had gotten used to remaining out of the way just observing.

"I think he'll be fine; time will tell though. Come my friends, let's get food and discuss our next course of action." Kanan knew she was referring to the body of his dead friend on the other ship. Zaluna deserved a proper burial and the Jedi would see that she got it. He nodded and the three left the room quietly, letting the droid do its job.


	14. Chapter 14: Up to Par

****Sorry it's taken me so long to update and that this is a filler chapter guys :(. I've been too sick and bleh. I'm feeling a little better, just waiting for my Kidneys and Pancreas to decide they like being part of my body again, lol. I'll try to work more on it but I wanted to give you guys something to tide you over while my body wages a war with itself. If you see some major errors please let me know? Thanks and enjoy!** ~Ocean**

 **Chapter 14: Up to Par**

Hera aimlessly wandered the halls of her ship. It was good to be up and moving around, but more importantly, it was good to be alive. Her body was still weak from lost nutrition and her bones still ached with each movement but Hera ignored that as she walked finally ending up in the cockpit of her ship.

The Twi-lek made her way over and sat down in her chair, running her hands over the controls affectionately. She smiled thinking of how Kanan always said she was married to the ship; she could see his reasoning now.

"How are you feeling?" She didn't have to turn around to know the source of the voice. She heard it every day since their fated meeting on Gorse.

"Pretty good with all things considering. Just making sure that my ship was still in order and didn't get scratched while I was out." She smiled before remembering about their youngest.

"How's Ezra?" As she asked, the smile faded to a small frown of motherly concern. She had heard what happened to him.

"He's resting." Kanan stood up straight from his place against the door frame and walked over sitting in the co-pilot chair. Hera looked over and saw the concern on his face. It had been more than a week and that was the only answer he gave anyone.

"I thought Ahsoka force healed him. Why isn't he fully recovered?" Kanan looked down sighing.

"There are many theories to force healing. One is that it miraculously heals the target; mostly this is what non-force sensitives think. It's a myth. Another is that it floods the target with an overabundance of force energy to help the cells fuse back together in a faster manner than it would normally take. I think that is the most accurate description." The Jedi mused a bit, trying to remember his teachings of different abilities. This one escaped him though.

"So, why isn't he fully recovered?" Hera prodded him again for an answer turning her full attention to the man next to her.

"He was injured by a Sith Lord. A powerful one. I think that Ahsoka was unable to put enough energy into healing him, even with my own energy. I think there was just enough to keep him from dying." The question had been bothering Kanan as well. With Ahsoka back on her own assignments again, he couldn't bounce questions and theories off the older force-sensitive. That left him to come up with his own ideas.

"How bad is he?" Hera had asked this question while she was recovering and never got a straight answer. The pilot hadn't even seen the boy since they left to find the Gattis-root. She watched as the Jedi sighed again before getting up.

"Let's see what you think…" He left, quickly followed by Hera. The two went down the halls and stopped at Kanan's door. He opened it and walked letting Hera follow. The room was really warm, purposely kept that way so Ezra didn't get cold.

Hera looked over to the bed. On it, lay the youngest Spectre. He was just in a pair of light pants, his side was bandaged in bandages that were soaked in a mix of old and new blood. His facial features showed nothing but pain. Ezra's jaw was clenched and his eyes shut tightly; occasionally Hera heard a small groan of pain emitted from his throat. The pilot put a hand over her mouth to keep her from gasping as she stepped closer to the bed.

"The fever and all traces of the Bybbec Fever are gone. This is what he was left with. The wound won't stay closed, and I can't calm the pain in his mind and body. Right now, it almost seems as if it would have been better if he had died; I don't like having to watch him suffer like this every day." As Kanan spoke, his stomach churned at the thought of losing his padawan. He had formed a forbidden attachment in the boy he came to view as a son; he didn't want to let go of him, or Hera, or any of them. He wasn't ready and would never be.

Hera sat down in the chair next to the bed and looked over the unconscious boy. She didn't need the force to tell her that Ezra was indeed suffering greatly.

"Is it possible that he was unable to heal because he was sick?" She didn't look up at Kanan but knew he pondered this.

"I guess it's possible. If so, now that he's better, maybe he will start healing." The older male leaned against the wall letting Hera continue to look him over.

"The bandages need to be changed otherwise the wound will tear when you remove them." She saw the dried and moist blood collection on the otherwise pure white bandage covering his torso.

"Zeb, Sabine and Chopper are out in the _Phantom_ getting supplies. We ran out last night."

"Did you get the ones from the storage compartment?" Hera stood up and moved to take a step, her recovering body giving out causing her to fall forward. Kanan caught her right before she hit the ground and stood her upright again waiting until she was stable.

"You can't move around fast like that. You're still recovering too, and you haven't eaten. The kid isn't going anywhere, come on." He led the Twi-lek into the commons area, getting her settled at the table going to heat her up some food.

Hera didn't put up a fight. She was still tired and with the mention of food, she realized just how hungry she actually was. The older Spectre set a cup of soup in front of her before sitting himself. Hera hesitated before picking it up and taking a sip. Last time she had been sick; it had taken a long time to be able to keep food down so she was leery.

"It has herbs in it to help with nausea. Sabine made it." Kanan stated as he took a sip of his caffeine.

"It's good…" She took another sip before it dawned on her that she didn't know where they were.

"Where are we anyway? Last time I remember; we were in spaced docked with the fleet." She looked at Kanan. He looked right back at her.

"We're on Garel. Well hidden in the mountains. The Empire won't find us." Kanan was pretty proud of the place he had found.

The Imperial fleet would have to practically walk every square inch of the planet to find them. Hera nodded taking another sip.

"Sabine was talking to Ahsoka and I heard her mention Zaluna. Did you meet her? Where is she? How is she doing after all this time?" Hera smiled slightly. The two thought she had been asleep, and she almost was, when Sabine had brought up the older Sullustan. She had fallen asleep as the conversation went into the burial plans.

Kanan remained silence, his face having fallen into a deep frown.

"She didn't make it, did she?" Death was part of war; Hera had accepted that. Kanan nodded.

"We gave her a proper burial. She said to tell you 'hi'." Kanan said. He had mourned in his own way and had moved on.

Hera nodded mutely mourning the loss of her old friend that she had only known for a brief moment in time. The sound of the _Phantom_ docking however, brought them back to the present.

"They're back." The Jedi stated as he got up to go help with supplies leaving the pilot alone in the room. Hera sat there looking at her half empty cup of soup. She sighed, there was no use being sad. She finished the nourishment before getting up and heading to help as much as she could.


	15. Chapter 15: Up and About

****Another slow chapter. Sorry guys! Apparently being sick has also caused a slight writers block :( So sad!** ~Ocean**

 **Chapter 15: Up and About**

"Come on Kid. You need to eat something."

Ezra was sitting up, propped up by pillows. His face was masked in pain. Hera had been correct in assuming that without his body having to fight off illness, it was able to fully focus on healing itself. Kanan was holding a bowl with a spoon.

The Jedi put the dish down when he saw that the youth had started to shivering uncontrollably again. Whatever Vader had done to the youth had caused a long term effect on his body. Kanan pulled the covers around Ezra's shaking frame.

"It's…so cold…" The young Jedi stuttered between chattering teeth. He felt a wave of warmth wash over him and the familiar mental embrace of his master. Slowly, he stopped shivering again.

"Thank you master…" He said as his body relaxed.

"You can thank me by eating. Hera said that I would be in trouble if you didn't eat at least half, so eat what you can and I'll make sure it looks like half before I bring it back to her. If you eat enough, I may sneak you out of the room and let you just walk around and get some fresh air." Kanan spoke quietly as if Hera was standing behind him. Ezra cocked an eyebrow at him.

"I thought Jedi weren't allowed to lie?" The padawan asked wincing as pain pulled at his side.

"I wouldn't call it lying…I would call it…" He tried to think of a word.

"Motivated deception?" A voice called behind him.

"Yeah! Motivated deception." Kanan turned around to thank the voice to see that it was the very person he was going to be deceiving.

Hera's arms were crossed in an unamused manner giving him one of her trademark looks for a moment before striding over to Ezra.

"How are you feeling Ezra?" She started to look him over ignoring her friend right now. The wound was healing and was almost closed now. It had been almost another two weeks for him to heal to this point.

"Okay I guess. Kanan said that if I ate half, I can go for a walk." Ezra said taking the bowl from the betrayed-looking older Jedi. Ezra put a spoonful in his mouth to give him an excuse not to speak.

"He did, did he?" Hera cast a look to Kanan that he knew was her promising him a future "talk".

"I think he's well enough to at least get out of bed for a few minutes. He's not running a fever and the wound hasn't bled in several days." Hera pursed her lips slightly before her face relaxed and she nodded.

"Alright, he can go for a small walk…" Ezra smiled and was fixing to say something before she interjected again.

"If: Ezra eats half the bowl, _unaided_ " She said looking at Kanan who simply looked away.

"and if you promise to take it easy. No pushing yourself, we don't want you hurting yourself." Kanan noticed that she sounded just like one of the Jedi nurses that would take care of the younglings at the temple. To anyone else, she sounded like a concerned mother. A small smile traced his lips.

"Okay, can I take a shower too?" Ezra was already a quarter of the way through his bowl. Hera gave him another one of her looks, almost as if he was pushing his boundaries. He quickly dropped his head and quietly muttered.

"I don't want to smell like Zeb…someone can be in there in case I fall or something…" Hera sighed in defeat.

"If you still have enough energy after your walk then yes. As long as Kanan or Zeb is there to make sure you don't get hurt." There was no point in arguing. She stood and headed for the door.

"I'll check on your later." She said before leaving.

"That wasn't fair throwing me to the Loth-Wolves." Kanan said exasperated. An angry Twi-lek was never a good thing.

"I'm done. Let's go!" Ezra said setting the more than half empty bowl on the night stand before starting to get up letting a small cry of pain escape his lips as he doubled over.

"Patience Kid…Just take it slow, we don't have to be in a rush." Kanan chided gently. He helped Ezra get up out of bed and supported the youth's unsteady body.

It took several moments for Ezra to adjust to the upright position, but soon enough the two were slowly walking through the ship and down the ramp to the outside.

"Hey Kid!" Sabine said cheerfully as she worked on inventory from their latest supply run. Zeb was with her looking over.

"I guess that means you didn't die on us. Welcome back Kid" The Lesat said gruffly, turning back to his work. He was glad to see his little buddy on the mend. He missed their distraction fights that took their mind off fighting Imperials constantly.

"Hey guys!" Ezra said enthusiastically. Kanan heard the underlying exhaustion in his voice.

" _A few more minutes and then he needs to head back in before he over does it._ " Kanan thought to himself, fearing the wrath of Hera if the padawan over exerted himself.

The older human turned them around when he noticed his student gripping his side tighter.

"Time to go in. Do you still feel like a shower? Or do you need to rest first?" Kanan asked him in a calm, almost fatherly voice.

"Shower." The youth said as he headed inside the ship.

After gathering some fresh clothing, the two walked down the hall to the fresher.

"Leave the door unlocked in case you need help, but I'm going to wait out here." Showering was almost rare during this war, and Kanan found that he hated being disturbed so he followed his own beliefs and decided to give the youth his space; he would deal with the consequences from Hera later…if she found out.

Kanan leaned against the doorframe and shut his eyes concentrating on the water. He could tell by the patterns of waterfall the that youth was washing himself. Kanan could also tell that this wasn't easy for Ezra, pain radiated through the force.

The youth's shower didn't last long before the water turned off and Ezra dried off and got dressed. He was proud that he didn't have to have someone help him, he still had his pride at being independent after all.

Kanan brought him back to his own room and let him get settled. Ezra didn't realize how much effort just moving would take; he was exhausted.

"How was your walk?" Hera said as she came in to check on the boys.

"Exhausting." The youth said tiredly. The Twi-lek smiled coughing slightly earning a concerned look from both males in the room.

"I'm fine. Ahsoka said that I would be coughing for the next few weeks." Ezra nodded and relaxed, but Kanan stared at her a little bit longer before he looked away, convinced enough to relax again.

Hera proceeded to take care of Ezra, making sure everything was still healing properly with no signs of infection or worsening. By the time she finished, the youth was fast asleep again.

"He'll be out for a few hours at least Kanan. You need to sleep yourself, you've hardly left his side. I'll be up for a while if you want to go rest in my room." The pilot spoke gently, but gave Kanan no room to argue.

"I'll stay here in case he wakes up and needs me." The Jedi stood and climbed the ladder getting comfortable in the top bunk. Hera nodded and let him before shutting off the light and leaving the room. Kanan didn't realize how tired he was until after he was already more than halfway asleep.


	16. Chapter 16: Complications

****Hey guys! Still alive lol. Hope you're enjoying the story!** ~Ocean**

 **Chapter 16: Complications**

"Hera? I think we have a problem…"

The Twi-lek turned around from her focus on hyperspace looking at the youngest crew member. They were heading back for the Lothal sector. Ezra was doing better and healing nicely for just a few days. She was glad, but motherly concerned kept him on restricted activity still.

"What kind of problem?" Hera turned her chair completely around looking Ezra up and down mentally checking to make sure he hadn't done something stupid to reinjure himself.

"Kanan said that we could try light Jedi training…only…" The padawan trailed off slightly.

"Ezra, spill it. What's going on?" Hera stood and walked over. Ezra's lack of explanation was causing her worry. If he was fine, then something was wrong with Kanan.

"What's wrong with Kanan?" She moved past him without another word and headed for the Jedi's room. Ezra followed quickly.

"I think he's sick. He was really tired last night and he went to bed early. He always meditates." Ezra sounded worried now.

Hera got to his room and opened the door. She peered into the darkness, turning the lights on dim. On the bottom bunk, was the heavily covered form of Ezra's master.

"Kanan? Love?" She walked in more. When she got closer, she realized that the Jedi was shivering violently, his breathing raspy.

"What's wrong with him Hera?" Ezra inched closer as well. Seeing Kanan like this scared the youth slightly. He watched as Hera checked him over; she gave a soft curse in her native language.

"He was so busy taking care of everyone that he didn't take care of himself and he contracted the same thing that almost killed me."

Ezra's eyes widened.

"You mean he has Bybbec Fever now?" Ezra was scared, they wouldn't be able to get back to Coruscant and get more of the Gattis-Root. Was Kanan going to die?

Hera nodded.

"At least I'm fairly positive." The older being saw the look of perpetual fear on the youngest one's face. He needed some reassurance that he wasn't going to lose another parent figure.

"Don't worry, it's not fatal to humans, and you three gathered more than enough of the root that we can treat him so he will heal faster. Stay with him and make sure he stays in bed." The Twi-lek got up and left the room. She knew how concerned the young Jedi was and gently placed a hand on his shoulder reassuringly, giving it a small squeeze before walking out.

Ezra took Hera's former place next to his master and looked him over. Kanan's eyes fluttered open, immediately on his student sensing his unease.

"I'm think I'm cancelling training today Kid." Ezra smiled at his master's pathetic attempt at saving his pride.

"I think it was already canceled, seeing as how my master didn't show up." Kanan gave him a small smile in return before it faded into a frown as he started to cough deeply. Ezra frowned as well.

"Sorry Ezra. Knew you were looking forward to it. We can try again this evening; I'll be feeling better then." The older male unconsciously curled up more under the covers as his shivering worsened.

"How about we just have our lesson after you're better. I don't think Hera is going to be letting you out of bed anytime soon." Ezra shifted in his chair continuing to watch his mentor. He could feel the sickness of his master; the dulled senses, the heat from the fever and yet the chill of his body. Ezra knew the feelings; it was exactly how he felt when he was sick.

"Hera can't tell me what to do." Kanan still had some pride, and he didn't plan on Hera doting on him to destroy it.

"I can't what?" Ezra looked to the voice behind him. Hera had come in with the medication, giving Kanan a look, daring him. Ezra smirked knowing he would regret his next words later on.

"Kanan was just telling me that you can't tell him what to do. He wanted to have a lesson tonight but I told him that you would probably want him on bed rest." Sometimes, Ezra liked causing trouble.

"Well, he's right. I can't tell him what to do, he is a grown adult." Ezra gave her a dead pan look as his plot to harass his mentor failed in front of his eyes. Kanan smirked

"If he knows what's good for his health and wellbeing while on _my_ ship though, he would listen to what I "kindly" suggest to him." She flashed Ezra a smile as Kanan went from weakly smug to knowing that fighting would be futile.

"Fine. I'll behave and stay in bed." He said in an almost childish manner watching as Hera came over and gave him an injection into his upper arm.

"There, you should be better in a few days, as long as you rest and allow your body to heal. I guess this will be a lesson learned. Don't just assume that because you're a Jedi that you're immune. You assumed that with not taking precautions and look at where you are now. Hate to break it to you love, but Jedi are not immune and invincible."

"Well excuse me for wanting to save your life. This would not have happened if you didn't go to Ryloth anyway. You should have stuck to the plan, you're no better than the Kid sometimes." The older man retorted bitterly.

Kanan was actually pretty upset about getting sick. Jedi weren't supposed to be sick and yet he was lying in bed, feeling very ill. Ezra saw Hera flinch very slightly. She got up.

"I'll come to check on you later." With no other words, the Twi-lek left the room.

Despite how hurtful the words were; Hera knew they held truth. If she had stuck to the mission objectives, her and Ezra would have not gotten sick, and none of this would have happened. She held the blame in his student's injury from the Sith Lord. Hera sighed and walked to her cockpit to think.

"That was pretty harsh Kanan. Hera didn't deserve to be treated like that. She always follows mission objectives and normally gets on to us if they aren't followed. If she strayed from the plan, she must have had good reason, right?" Ezra spoke calmly, but almost assertive. He felt the harm of the older Jedi's words that had been inflicted.

It was Kanan's turn to sigh.

"You're right. I don't do so well when I feel like my head is about to explode though. I'll apologize when she comes in next." His voice was fully of drowsiness as the medication started to kick in. It wasn't long before Kanan was fast asleep and Ezra left the room, letting him rest in peace.

"Heard he was sick. How is he?" Zeb asked as he walked down the hall towards the rooms.

The Lesat figured that by now, he had already been exposed to the fever, might as well just stay on the ship. It was better than staying with the fleet's main ship. There was no teenage brat to harass for one thing.

"Let's just say he's a little snippy right now because he's confined to bed." Ezra said quietly, almost in a warning tone for Zeb to not cross his master's path right now.

"Dually noted. I'll just stay away from him. You and I have an assignment in the morning anyway. We're going to an abandoned medical station to get more medical supplies. We'll hope for no nasty inquisitors or probes this time. I _hate_ probes." Ezra wanted to laugh at his obvious dislike of the mechanical spies, but he didn't feel like getting into a fight with the being he was fixing to sleep in the same room as.

"Alright, what time do we leave?" Ezra asked instead. The teen hoped they would get to sleep in a little, he was well on the road to recovery, but he was still slightly lethargic.

"Hera said that we can leave after you've woken up. Don't even think about waking up early. I want to sleep in; I'm still trying to get over the fleet's 0500 wake up time." Zeb grumped with a scowl. Ezra chuckled before going into the room first.

"Don't worry, I have no intentions of waking up early. Just hope you don't wake me up with your snoring or your smell." Ezra sarcastically said as he climbed the ladder to his bunk. The Lesat growled softly.

"You're one to talk. You're the one constantly waking up, or moving, and you smell a lot worse than me! In fact, why don't you go take a shower now and spare us the displeasure." When he got no remark back he looked up into the bunk.

"Hey Kid?" A tiny smile graced his lips when he saw that Ezra was already fast asleep. The former honor guard hesitated before moving the covers over the youth so he wouldn't get cold. He shut the lights off and soon joined Ezra in deep sleep.


	17. Chapter 17: Back to Normal

****To answer the guest to asked about Zaluna. She is a character from 'Star Wars: A New Dawn'. A prequel to "SWR".****

 **Chapter 17: Back to Normal**

Hera stood silently, looking down at the make-shift grave of her friend. There was a carefully placed pilot of stones, and a ribbon to mark it as a grave.

"Good-Bye, my friend. Thank you for everything, you will be missed." The Twi-lek finally spoke, quietly, as she turned away and started to walk back to the ship.

Hera finally had a chance to visit and say good bye. With the crew healed, rested and well again they were leaving Garel for their next adventure. She was upset that she never got to see Zaluna again, but if she had, it would have been just as unexpected.

Hera looked up seeing Kanan waiting for her at the bottom of the ship's entrance. He was still pale, but the fever was gone.

"Saying 'good bye'?" The older Jedi asked calmly watching her. She nodded silently, stepping onto the ramp of her ship.

"You picked a good spot. Peaceful and quiet. She would have loved it." Hera smiled sadly as she spoke, continuing up the ramp.

Kanan followed walking next to her for emotional support after making sure the ramp was closing.

"Are you feeling better? Enough for a mission?" She stopped at the ladder and looked at Kanan, daring him to lie to her.

Zaluna was no longer in the conversation, even though she would never be forgotten. They just didn't have time to mourn, not with the Empire still around.

"Yes. The fever is gone, and I'm not dizzy when I move suddenly. I'd say I'm clear." Kanan smirked slightly and climbed up before she could, waiting for her at the top. The two headed for the cockpit.

"Alright, we'll meet the kids in orbit. They just finished with their run, and I figured it would be easier to meet there. Kanan?"

The man in question looked at her.

"Hm?" He said as he sat in his co-pilot chair.

"I'm sorry. If I hadn't strayed from the original mission, none of this would have happened. I caused a lot of trouble, and I'm truly sorry." Kanan looked over and saw that her head was down, eyes shut, in a guilty fashion.

"It's okay Hera. You didn't know this would happen. It happened, and we survived so we're stronger. Besides, now I have something to hold over your head when you're being difficult." A mischievous smirk played across his face as Kanan spoke.

Hera fired up the engines and took control of the yoke, steering the ship upwards to the sky. She missed this feeling. The feeling of freedom.

"Kanan Jarrus, if you think one mistake that I made is going to help you feel better about yourself in the future when you make a mistake, you are so totally wrong my friend. Think again. Besides, I can blame my poor decision on a feverish state. What excuse do you have?" She smiled as Kanan's smirk dropped.

She knew that with no reaction, he would have no fun. Deep down, Hera still felt guilty, but she would be damned if Kanan was going to take advantage of it.

"Fine, whatever. Now, what's the next mission?" He asked, his attention turning back to the present and their overall objectives. The Jedi missed thwarting the Empire's plans, it had been too long.

Kanan smiled, he was glad that things were back to normal.

 ****Sorry for the crappy ending. OMG is all I have to say. My life has turned upside down. I'm looking at moving 1400 miles away from the only home I've known within the end of the month. I'm so scared and nervous, but I can't pass up this job opportunity! If you see any new stories, it will probably be my friend posting on my account. She said that she would tag her work with her name like I do so you'll know. She goes by Damon. Anyway, sorry again! I'm going to try and update the other story too before life gets too confusing!****


End file.
